Adjacent Words

Strange definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRANGE, a. [L.]
1. Foreign; belonging to anther country.
I do not contemn the knowledge of strange and divers tongues. [This sense is nearly obsolete.
2. Not domestic; belonging to others.
So she impatient her own faults to see, turns from herself, and in strange things delights. [Nearly obsolete.]
3. New; not before known, heard or seen. The former custom was familiar; the latter was new and strange to them. Hence,
4. Wonderful; causing surprise; exciting curiosity. It is strange that men will not receive improvement, when it is shown to be improvement.
Sated at length, ere long I might perceive strange alteration in me.
5. Odd; unusual; irregular; not according to the common way.
Hes strange and peevish.
6. Remote. [Little used.]
7. Uncommon; unusual.
This made David to admire the law of god at that strange rate.
8. Unacquainted.
They were now at a gage, looking strange at one another.
9. Strange is sometimes uttered by way of exclamation.
Strange! What extremes should thus preserve the snow, high on the Alps, or in deep caves below.
This is an elliptical expression for it is strange.
STRANGE, v.t. To alienate; to estrange. [Not in use.]
STRANGE, v.i.
1. To wonder; to be astonished. [Not in use.]
2. To be estranged or alienated. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird; "a strange exaltation that was indefinable"; "a strange fantastical mind"; "what a strange sense of humor she has" [syn: strange, unusual] [ant: familiar]
2: not known before; "used many strange words"; "saw many strange faces in the crowd"; "don't let anyone unknown into the house" [syn: strange, unknown]
3: relating to or originating in or characteristic of another place or part of the world; "foreign nations"; "a foreign accent"; "on business in a foreign city" [syn: foreign, strange] [ant: native]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (stranger; strangest) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estrange, from Latin extraneus, literally, external, from extra outside — more at extra- Date: 13th century 1. a. archaic of, relating to, or characteristic of another country ; foreign b. not native to or naturally belonging in a place ; of external origin, kind, or character 2. a. not before known, heard, or seen ; unfamiliar b. exciting wonder or awe ; extraordinary 3. a. discouraging familiarities ; reserved, distant b. ill at ease 4. unaccustomed 2 <she was strange to his ways> • strangely adverb Synonyms: strange, singular, unique, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, odd, quaint, outlandish mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected. strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable <a journey filled with strange sights>. singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness <a singular feeling of impending disaster>. unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel <a career unique in the annals of science>. peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness <the peculiar status of America's first lady>. eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior <the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers>. erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating <a friend's suddenly erratic behavior>. odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected <an odd sense of humor>. quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness <a quaint fishing village>. outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric <outlandish fashions of the time>. II. noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1974 a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of - 1/3 and a measured energy of approximately 150 MeV; also the flavor characterizing this particle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 unusual, peculiar, surprising, eccentric, novel. 2 a (often foll. by to) unfamiliar, alien, foreign (lost in a strange land). b not one's own (strange gods). 3 (foll. by to) unaccustomed. 4 not at ease; out of one's element (felt strange in such company). Phrases and idioms: feel strange be unwell. strange particle Physics an elementary particle classified as having a non-zero value for strangeness. strange to say it is surprising or unusual (that). Derivatives: strangely adv. Etymology: ME f. OF estrange f. L extraneus EXTRANEOUS

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strange Strange, a. [Compar. Stranger; superl. Strangest.] [OE. estrange, F. ['e]trange, fr. L. extraneus that is without, external, foreign, fr. extra on the outside. See Extra, and cf. Estrange, Extraneous.] 1. Belonging to another country; foreign. ``To seek strange strands.'' --Chaucer. One of the strange queen's lords. --Shak. I do not contemn the knowledge of strange and divers tongues. --Ascham. 2. Of or pertaining to others; not one's own; not pertaining to one's self; not domestic. So she, impatient her own faults to see, Turns from herself, and in strange things delights. --Sir J. Davies. 3. Not before known, heard, or seen; new. Here is the hand and seal of the duke; you know the character, I doubt not; and the signet is not strange to you. --Shak. 4. Not according to the common way; novel; odd; unusual; irregular; extraordinary; unnatural; queer. ``He is sick of a strange fever.'' --Shak. Sated at length, erelong I might perceive Strange alteration in me. --Milton. 5. Reserved; distant in deportment. --Shak. She may be strange and shy at first, but will soon learn to love thee. --Hawthorne. 6. Backward; slow. [Obs.] Who, loving the effect, would not be strange In favoring the cause. --Beau. & Fl. 7. Not familiar; unaccustomed; inexperienced. In thy fortunes am unlearned and strange. --Shak. Note: Strange is often used as an exclamation. Strange! what extremes should thus preserve the snow High on the Alps, or in deep caves below. --Waller. Strange sail (Naut.), an unknown vessel. Strange woman (Script.), a harlot. --Prov. v. 3. To make it strange. (a) To assume ignorance, suspicion, or alarm, concerning it. --Shak. (b) To make it a matter of difficulty. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To make strange, To make one's self strange. (a) To profess ignorance or astonishment. (b) To assume the character of a stranger. --Gen. xlii. 7. Syn: Foreign; new; outlandish; wonderful; astonishing; marvelous; unusual; odd; uncommon; irregular; queer; eccentric.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strange Strange, adv. Strangely. [Obs.] Most strange, but yet most truly, will I speak. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strange Strange, v. t. To alienate; to estrange. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strange Strange, v. i. 1. To be estranged or alienated. [Obs.] 2. To wonder; to be astonished. [Obs.] --Glanvill.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(stranger, strangest) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Something that is strange is unusual or unexpected, and makes you feel slightly nervous or afraid. Then a strange thing happened... There was something strange about the flickering blue light... It's strange how things turn out. = odd ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that/to-inf/how • strangely She noticed he was acting strangely... The hut suddenly seemed strangely silent. ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj • strangeness ...the breathy strangeness of the music. 2. A strange place is one that you have never been to before. A strange person is someone that you have never met before. I ended up alone in a strange city... She was faced with a new job, in unfamiliar surroundings with strange people. = unfamiliar ? familiar ADJ: ADJ n 3. see also stranger

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Foreign, outlandish, exotic, alien. 2. New, novel. 3. Unusual, uncommon, irregular, odd, singular, peculiar, particular, exceptional, rare, extraordinary, curious. 4. Unnatural, abnormal, anomalous, extraordinary, wonderful, inexplicable, marvellous, preternatural, unaccountable, mysterious, unique, unheard of, out of the way. 5. Odd, eccentric, queer, peculiar, bizarre. 6. Unacquainted, unknown, unfamiliar.

Moby Thesaurus

aberrant, able, abnormal, absurd, alien, amazing, anomalous, apart, astonishing, astounding, atypical, barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, beguiling, bereft of reason, bewildering, bizarre, brainsick, crackbrained, cracked, crank, crankish, cranky, crazed, crazy, crotchety, curious, daft, deluded, demented, deprived of reason, deranged, detached, deviant, deviative, different, disconnected, discrete, disjunct, disoriented, disrelated, dissociated, distraught, divergent, dotty, eccentric, enigmatic, erratic, exceptional, exotic, exterior, external, extraneous, extraordinary, extraterrestrial, extrinsic, fabulous, fantastic, fascinating, fey, fishy, flaky, flighty, foreign, foreign-born, freaked out, freakish, freaky, funny, grotesque, hallucinated, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, incalculable, incognizable, incommensurable, incomparable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, independent, inexplicable, insane, insular, intrusive, irrational, irregular, irrelative, isolated, kinky, kooky, loco, lunatic, mad, maddened, maggoty, manic, marvelous, mazed, mental, mentally deficient, meshuggah, miraculous, moon-struck, mysterious, new, non compos, non compos mentis, not all there, not right, novel, nutty, odd, oddball, of unsound mind, off, off the wall, offbeat, original, other, out, out-of-the-way, outland, outlandish, outre, outside, passing strange, peculiar, phenomenal, prodigious, psycho, puzzling, quaint, queer, quirky, rare, reasonless, remarkable, removed, romanesque, romantic, rum, rummy, screwball, screwy, sealed, segregate, sensational, senseless, separate, separated, sick, singular, spectacular, stark-mad, stark-staring mad, striking, stupendous, surprising, tetched, touched, twisted, ulterior, unaccountable, unaccustomed, unaffiliated, unallied, unapparent, unapprehended, unascertained, unassociated, unbalanced, unbeknown, uncanny, uncharted, unclassified, uncommon, unconnected, unconventional, uncouth, undisclosed, undiscoverable, undiscovered, undivulged, unearthly, unexplained, unexplored, unexposed, unfamiliar, unfathomed, unheard, unheard-of, unhinged, unidentified, unimaginable, uninvestigated, unique, unknowable, unknown, unnatural, unperceived, unplumbed, unprecedented, unrelatable, unrelated, unrevealed, unsane, unsettled, unsound, unsuspected, untouched, unusual, virgin, wacky, wandering, weird, whimsical, witless, wonderful, wondrous, wondrous strange