strange

[streynj] /streɪndʒ/
adjective, stranger, strangest.
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 followed by to):
I'm strange to this part of the job.
6.
distant or reserved; shy.
adverb
7.
in a strange manner.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Old French estrange < Latin extrāneus; see extraneous
Related forms
strangely, adverb
unstrange, adjective
unstrangely, adverb
unstrangeness, noun
Synonyms
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.
Antonyms
4–6. familiar.
Examples from the web for strange
  • There's really no other way to experience its strange and exotic cuisine.
  • Last night, this strange frog was sitting on my patio.
  • The strange tortoise's shell is flat underneath and not rounded at the belly as usual, he says.
  • The eternal golden braid emerges as a strange loop.
  • As strange as carbonated milk sounds, it's not unprecedented.
  • The small warehouse is a mad workshop of strange dreams.
  • Peppered around lava flats and mountaintops all over the moon are strange sinuous shapes known as lunar swirls.
  • But a look across the field reveals a strange emptiness.
  • Many other strange creatures turn out to be familiar faces in disguise.
  • It is not often they have such strange looking visitors.
British Dictionary definitions for strange

strange

/streɪndʒ/
adjective
1.
odd, unusual, or extraordinary in appearance, effect, manner, etc; peculiar
2.
not known, seen, or experienced before; unfamiliar: a strange land
3.
not easily explained: a strange phenomenon
4.
(usually foll by to) inexperienced (in) or unaccustomed (to): strange to a task
5.
not of one's own kind, locality, etc; alien; foreign
6.
shy; distant; reserved
7.
strange to say, it is unusual or surprising that
8.
(physics)
  1. denoting a particular flavour of quark
  2. denoting or relating to a hypothetical form of matter composed of such quarks: strange matter, a strange star
adverb
9.
(not standard) in a strange manner
Derived Forms
strangely, adverb
Word Origin
C13: from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus foreign; see extraneous
Word Origin and History for strange
adj.

late 13c., "from elsewhere, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar," from Old French estrange (French étrange) "foreign, alien," from Latin extraneus "foreign, external," from extra "outside of" (see extra). Sense of "queer, surprising" is attested from late 14c. Stranger, attested from late 14c., never picked up the secondary sense of the adjective. As a form of address to an unknown person, it is recorded from 1817, American English rural colloquial. Meaning "one who has stopped visiting" is recorded from 1520s.