I. strange 1 S2 W2 /streɪndʒ/ BrE AmE adjective ( comparative stranger , superlative strangest )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ stranger , ↑ strangeness , ↑ estrangement ; adjective : ↑ strange , ↑ estranged ; adverb : ↑ strangely ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estrange 'foreign' , from Latin extraneus ; ⇨ ↑ extraneous ]
1 . unusual or surprising, especially in a way that is difficult to explain or understand SYN odd :
strange noises
Does Geoff’s behaviour seem strange to you?
She felt there was something strange about Dexter’s voice.
Isn’t it strange how animals seem to sense danger?
It’s strange that we’ve never met before.
For some strange reason, I slept like a baby despite the noise.
Strange as it may seem, I actually prefer cold weather.
That’s strange. I was sure Jude was right here a second ago.
The strange thing is all four victims had red hair.
strange to say British English (=strangely)
Strange to say, I was just thinking that myself.
2 . someone or something that is strange is not familiar because you have not seen or met them before:
As a child, she’d been taught never to speak to strange men.
I was just 20, a young girl in a strange city.
strange to
It was all strange to him, but he’d soon learn his way around.
3 . feel strange to feel as if something is slightly wrong or unusual, either physically or emotionally:
Can you get me a glass of water? I feel a bit strange.
It felt strange to be back in Dublin.
—strangeness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ strange unusual or surprising, especially in a way that is difficult to understand, or that is a little frightening:
What’s that strange noise downstairs?
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That’s strange – I’m sure I left my keys on the table.
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a strange old man
▪ funny/odd especially spoken a little strange and making you feel slightly surprised or worried:
There’s a funny smell in the kitchen.
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It’s odd that you can’t remember him at all.
▪ curious especially written strange, especially in an interesting way. Curious is a little more formal than strange :
a curious fact
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There’s something rather curious about small-town America.
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She remembered curious little details.
▪ mysterious strange – used about something that people know little about and are unable to explain or understand:
He had disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
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There were reports of mysterious lights in the sky.
▪ eccentric strange in a way that seems slightly crazy and amusing – used about people and their behaviour:
He lived completely alone and had some slightly eccentric habits.
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an eccentric old lady
▪ peculiar slightly strange, and different from what you would normally expect – used especially when this is either amusing or worrying:
She sometimes wears rather peculiar clothes.
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He had a peculiar expression on his face.
■ very strange
▪ weird very strange or very different from what you are used to:
I had a weird dream last night.
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It’s a weird and wonderful place.
▪ bizarre extremely strange and different from what is usually considered normal:
It was a bizarre situation.
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Mark’s behaviour was really bizarre.
▪ surreal extremely strange and unconnected with real life or normal experiences, like something out of a dream:
His paintings are full of surreal images.
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There is something surreal about the climate change talks in Bali.
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The plant’s flowers were so big that they seemed almost surreal
▪ uncanny very strange – used especially about someone having an unusual ability to do something, or looking surprisingly similar to someone:
She had an uncanny knack (=ability) of putting her finger right on a problem.
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Alice had an uncanny resemblance to Josie.
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his uncanny ability to pick racing winners
II. strange 2 BrE AmE adverb [only after verb] American English
in a way that is unusual or surprising SYN strangely :
The cat’s been acting really strange – I wonder if it’s sick.