stranger

[streyn-jer] /ˈstreɪn dʒər/
noun
1.
a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance:
He is a perfect stranger to me.
2.
a newcomer in a place or locality:
a stranger in town.
3.
an outsider:
They want no strangers in on the club meetings.
4.
a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed by to):
He is no stranger to poverty.
5.
a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest:
Our town shows hospitality to strangers.
6.
Law. one not privy or party to an act, proceeding, etc.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English < Middle French estrangier, equivalent to estrange strange + -ier -ier2
Related forms
strangerlike, adjective
Synonyms
1, 5. Stranger, alien, foreigner all refer to someone regarded as outside of or distinct from a particular group. Stranger may apply to one who does not belong to some group—social, professional, national, etc.—or may apply to a person with whom one is not acquainted. Alien emphasizes a difference in political allegiance and citizenship from that of the country in which one is living. Foreigner emphasizes a difference in language, customs, and background.
Antonyms
1. acquaintance.

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.

Stranger, The

noun
1.
French L'Étranger. a novel (1942) by Albert Camus.
Examples from the web for stranger
  • It was strange it was there, and it's even stranger it's gone.
  • As strange as modern whales are, their fossil predecessors were even stranger.
  • After two centuries of paleontological harvest, the evidence seems stranger than any fable, and continues to get stranger.
  • It gave me insight on how someone can be manipulated by a stranger or family or friend.
  • It might be from a parallel universe, or something even stranger than that.
  • We've heard the phrase about truth being stranger than fiction.
  • The first topic of conversation was a behavior known as altruism: selflessly helping a stranger.
  • Because truth is almost always stranger than fiction.
  • The arrests come in a state that is no stranger to political corruption.
  • As strange as quantum mechanics is, it could be stranger.
British Dictionary definitions for stranger

stranger

/ˈstreɪndʒə/
noun
1.
any person whom one does not know
2.
a person who is new to a particular locality, from another region, town, etc
3.
a guest or visitor
4.
(foll by to) a person who is unfamiliar (with) or new (to) something: he is no stranger to computers
5.
(law) a person who is neither party nor privy to a transaction

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 stranger

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.

stranger in the Bible

This word generally denotes a person from a foreign land residing in Palestine. Such persons enjoyed many privileges in common with the Jews, but still were separate from them. The relation of the Jews to strangers was regulated by special laws (Deut. 23:3; 24:14-21; 25:5; 26:10-13). A special signification is also sometimes attached to this word. In Gen. 23:4 it denotes one resident in a foreign land; Ex. 23:9, one who is not a Jew; Num. 3:10, one who is not of the family of Aaron; Ps. 69:8, an alien or an unknown person. The Jews were allowed to purchase strangers as slaves (Lev. 25:44, 45), and to take usury from them (Deut. 23:20).