strange

—strangely, adv.

/straynj/, adj., stranger, strangest, adv.

adj.

1. unusual, extraordinary, or curious; odd; queer: a strange remark to make.

2. estranged, alienated, etc., as a result of being out of one's natural environment: In Bombay I felt strange.

3. situated, belonging, or coming from outside of one's own locality; foreign: to move to a strange place; strange religions.

4. outside of one's previous experience; hitherto unknown; unfamiliar: strange faces; strange customs.

5. unaccustomed to or inexperienced in; unacquainted (usually fol. by to): I'm strange to this part of the job.

6. distant or reserved; shy.

adv.

7. in a strange manner.

[1250-1300; ME < OF estrange < L extraneus; see EXTRANEOUS]

Syn. 1. bizarre, singular, abnormal, anomalous. STRANGE, PECULIAR, ODD, QUEER refer to that which is out of the ordinary. STRANGE implies that the thing or its cause is unknown or unexplained; it is unfamiliar and unusual: a strange expression. That which is PECULIAR mystifies, or exhibits qualities not shared by others: peculiar behavior. That which is ODD is irregular or unconventional, and sometimes approaches the bizarre: an odd custom. QUEER sometimes adds to ODD the suggestion of something abnormal and eccentric: queer in the head. 6. aloof.

Ant. 4-6. familiar.

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