INDEX:
1. strange situations, experiences, smells, tastes etc
2. strange people, behaviour, objects or ideas
3. a strange person
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ UNUSUAL
↑ CRAZY
↑ MYSTERIOUS
↑ FRIGHTENED/FRIGHTENING
↑ MAGIC
↑ GHOST
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1. strange situations, experiences, smells, tastes etc
▷ strange /streɪndʒ/ [adjective]
very different from what you expect or from what usually happens, in a way that makes you feel a little frightened or surprised :
▪ A strange noise woke her up.
▪ I had a strange feeling that I’d been there before.
▪ Amanda’s eyes glowed in a strange way, like a cat’s.
▪ He seemed to know lots of things about me, but the strange thing is I didn’t even tell him my name.
it is strange that
▪ It’s strange that you’ve never met him - he lives in your street.
strangely [adverb]
▪ The downtown streets were strangely empty and peaceful.
▷ funny also odd especially British /ˈfʌni ɒdǁɑːd/ [adjective]
something funny or odd is a little strange and it makes you feel slightly worried or surprised because you cannot explain it or you do not know what it is :
▪ There’s a funny smell coming from the fridge.
▪ Thumps and laughter and odd noises were coming out of the living room.
it is funny/odd that
▪ It seems odd that no one noticed him coming in.
▪ It’s funny that he managed to hit the ball because he never hits it in practice.
that’s funny/that’s odd
spoken
▪ ‘Your keys aren’t here.’ ‘That’s funny - I’m sure I left them on the table.’
oddly [adverb]
▪ The eggplant was limp and oddly pale.
oddly enough
▪ Oddly enough, I didn’t feel at all nervous about visiting the prison.
▷ peculiar /pɪˈkjuːliəʳ/ [adjective]
strange and slightly unpleasant :
▪ This meat tastes peculiar.
▪ I’ve been having very peculiar dreams the past few weeks.
▪ I heard a peculiar warbling from the living room.
▷ mysterious /mɪˈstɪ ə riəs/ [adjective]
use this about something that people know very little about and that is difficult to explain or understand :
▪ No one could offer an explanation for his mysterious disappearance.
▪ I kept getting mysterious phone calls where the caller would hang up as soon as I answered.
under mysterious circumstances
▪ Two weeks later, the shop burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances.
mysteriously [adverb]
▪ Mysteriously, no one had noticed anyone leave or enter the room.
▷ weird /wɪəʳd/ [adjective]
a weird experience, feeling, sight, or sound is strange and very different from what you are used to :
▪ She only had lipstick on her bottom lip which looked pretty weird.
▪ It’s a weird feeling to go back to a place that you lived in a long time ago.
▷ bizarre /bɪˈzɑːʳ, bəˈzɑːʳ/ [adjective]
extremely strange, and very different from what is generally considered to be normal, especially in a frightening or slightly worrying way :
▪ Woods disappeared in very bizarre circumstances, and no trace of him has ever been found.
▪ It was bizarre - if we took longer than five minutes in the bathroom, we had to explain why to our manager.
▷ eerie /ˈɪ ə ri/ [adjective]
strange and frightening :
▪ An eerie howl filled the cave.
▪ I had the eerie feeling that somebody was watching me.
▪ The pumps were shut off now. It was eerie, being in the factory without their sound.
eerily [adverb]
▪ The forest around them remained eerily silent.
▷ surreal /səˈrɪəl/ [adjective]
extremely strange, because nothing seems connected with real life or normal experiences, and things happen or appear together that do not belong together :
▪ Living on the commune turned out to be a surreal experience.
▪ The whole trial and the media circus surrounding it was surreal.
▷ curious /ˈkjʊ ə riəs/ [adjective usually before noun]
strange and surprising but interesting, so that you want to know more about it :
▪ Life in the village was a curious combination of the old and the very new.
▪ He had come to some curious arrangement with his landlady.
curiously [adverb]
▪ It was a curiously organized office.
▷ ironic /aɪˈrɒnɪkǁaɪˈrɑː-/ [adjective]
an ironic situation seems strange and amusing, because something happens that you would not expect at all :
▪ Her car was stolen from outside the police station, which is pretty ironic.
▪ One of the study’s ironic discoveries is that TV trials educate the public about the justice system better than actual trials.
it is ironic that
▪ It’s ironic that professional athletes are often such unhealthy people.
ironically [adverb]
▪ Ironically, it was his very success which led to the media attention and his eventual downfall.
2. strange people, behaviour, objects or ideas
▷ strange /streɪndʒ/ [adjective]
▪ Pearl was a strange girl who never played with the other children.
▪ He’s very strange - you never really know what he’s thinking.
▪ Marla has some strange ideas about raising children.
strangely [adverb]
▪ Witnesses said the man was carrying a gun and behaving strangely.
▷ eccentric /ɪkˈsentrɪk/ [adjective]
an eccentric person has strange and slightly crazy habits or ideas, which people think are amusing :
▪ Our neighbour is an eccentric old lady who has about 25 cats.
▪ Mr. Withers is a little eccentric, but he’s basically harmless.
▷ weird /wɪəʳd/ [adjective]
strange and slightly frightening, and making you feel uncomfortable :
▪ I don’t really want to spend the evening with Helen - she’s so weird.
▪ She’s dating a really weird guy who’s into witchcraft and black magic.
▪ The museum has a collection of the weirdest sculptures I’ve ever seen.
▷ bizarre /bɪˈzɑːʳ, bəˈzɑːʳ/ [adjective]
extremely strange, and very different from what is generally considered to be normal, especially in a frightening or slightly worrying way :
▪ They tell the most bizarre stories about him.
▪ The marriage between the two stars was as bizarre as it was short-lived.
▪ Colin later took his own life in a bizarre suicide pact with his mother.
bizarrely [adverb]
▪ Roland was dressed rather bizarrely in the robes of a priest.
▷ outlandish /aʊtˈlændɪʃ/ [adjective]
something that is outlandish is very strange, and not at all like anything you are used to :
▪ Parts of Lisa’s story sounded outlandish, and no one would believe her.
▪ She came to the party wearing an outlandish costume and blond wig.
▷ funny/odd /ˈfʌni, ɒdǁɑːd/ [adjective] especially British
slightly strange and difficult to understand :
▪ Did Anna warn you that her aunt is rather... well, rather odd?
▪ He’s a bit funny - sometimes he’s very friendly, other times he just ignores you.
▷ peculiar /pɪˈkjuːliəʳ/ [adjective]
slightly strange, and different from what you would normally expect, especially in a way that is either amusing or a little worrying :
▪ She’s actually very friendly in her own peculiar way.
▪ Glenn started acting peculiar after his wife’s funeral.
▷ kinky /ˈkɪŋki/ [adjective]
someone who is kinky, or who does kinky things, has strange ways of getting sexual excitement :
▪ kinky sex
▪ I think he’s a bit kinky - but I like him.
▷ warped /wɔːʳpt/ [adjective] informal
someone who is warped has ideas or thoughts that most people think are unpleasant and strange :
▪ Some of my professors at college were pretty warped.
▪ In his statement the chief of police said, ‘We are dealing with a warped mind, and we have to take all precautions.’
▪ Only someone with a warped sense of humor would think the accident is funny.
3. a strange person
▷ weirdo /ˈwɪəʳdəʊ/ [countable noun] informal
someone who is very strange in an unpleasant and sometimes threatening way :
▪ There’s a weirdo who stands in front of the store and talks to himself.
▪ When I travel by underground I always seem to end up sitting next to some weirdo.
▷ oddball /ˈɒdbɔːlǁˈɑːd-/ [countable noun] informal
a strange person :
▪ Most of my family’s OK, but my brother’s a bit of an oddball.
▪ Growing up, most of the other kids considered me an oddball.
▷ freak /friːk/ [countable noun] informal
a very strange person, especially one who behaves oddly and has strange ideas :
▪ The guy is probably just some freak who saw her on TV and decided he loves her.
control/neat/fast food etc freak
▪ Her husband’s a control freak - he won’t let her leave the house without him.
▷ crank /kræŋk/ [countable noun] British
someone who other people think is strange, especially because they have beliefs, aims, or habits that are thought to be very unusual or too extreme :
▪ Vegetarians were once regarded as cranks.
▪ Call me a crank, but I think the world was a lot better before mobile phones came along.