/ friːk; NAmE / noun , adjective , verb
■ noun
1.
( informal ) a person with a very strong interest in a particular subject :
a health / fitness / jazz, etc. freak
—see also control freak
2.
( disapproving ) a person who is considered to be unusual because of the way they behave, look or think :
She was treated like a freak because she didn't want children.
He's going out with a real freak.
3.
(also ˌfreak of ˈnature ) (sometimes offensive ) a person, an animal, a plant or a thing that is not physically normal
4.
a very unusual and unexpected event :
By some freak of fate they all escaped without injury.
■ adjective
[ only before noun ] ( of an event or the weather ) very unusual and unexpected :
a freak accident / storm / occurrence
freak weather conditions
■ verb
freak (sb) (out) ( informal ) if sb freaks or if sth freaks them, they react very strongly to sth that makes them suddenly feel shocked, surprised, frightened, etc. :
[ v ]
My parents really freaked when they saw my hair.
[ vn ]
Snakes really freak me out.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (originally meaning a whim or sudden change of mind): probably from a dialect word.