peculiar
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- odd, abnormal, bizarre, curious, eccentric, extraordinary, freakish, funny, offbeat, outlandish, outré, quaint, queer, singular, strange, uncommon, unconventional, unusual, weird
- specific, characteristic, distinctive, particular, special, unique

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Contrasted words: normal
Related Words: unique, uncustomary

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English Thesaurus: strange, funny/odd, curious, mysterious, eccentric, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pe‧cu‧li‧ar /pɪˈkjuːliə $ -ər/ adjective
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: peculiaris 'of private property, special', from peculium 'private property', from pecu 'cattle']

1. strange, unfamiliar, or a little surprising:
There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen.
Something peculiar is going on.
It seems very peculiar that no one noticed Kay had gone.

2. be peculiar to somebody/something if something is peculiar to a particular person, place, or situation, it is a feature that only belongs to that person or only exists in that place or situation:
The problem of racism is not peculiar to this country.

3. behaving in a strange and slightly crazy way:
He’s been a little peculiar lately.
She’s a very peculiar child.

4. feel peculiar/come over all peculiar British English informal to feel slightly ill

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

peculiar
adj.
I. odd/strange
VERBS be, feel, look, seem, smell, sound, taste | become | find sb/sth, regard sb/sth as, think sb/sth I find her attitude a bit peculiar, to say the least.
ADV. most, very He is a most peculiar man!
a bit, a little, quite, rather The meat tasted rather peculiar.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

peculiar
II. only belonging to a particular person/place
VERBS be | become | remain
ADV. by no means These problems are by no means peculiar to this country.
PREP. to the smell that is peculiar to hospitals

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

peculiar
adjective
BAD: She said she liked the jumper because the colour was very peculiar.
GOOD: She said she liked the jumper because the colour was very unusual.

Usage Note:
peculiar = strange, especially in a surprising or unpleasant way: 'I'm not sure about this cheese. The taste is a bit peculiar.' 'Just because I don't like computers, everyone thinks I'm a bit peculiar.'
unusual = uncommon or rare: 'Where did you buy this cheese? The taste is very unusual.' 'At one time it was unusual for women to enter politics.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

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?
That’s strange – I’m sure I left my keys on the table.
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.
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
There’s something rather curious about small-town America.
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.
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.
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.
He had a peculiar expression on his face.
weird very strange or very different from what you are used to:
I had a weird dream last night.
It’s a weird and wonderful place.
bizarre extremely strange and different from what is usually considered normal:
It was a bizarre situation.
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.
There is something surreal about the climate change talks in Bali.
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.
Alice had an uncanny resemblance to Josie.
his uncanny ability to pick racing winners

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲