eccentric

1 of 2

adjective

ec·cen·tric ik-ˈsen-trik How to pronounce eccentric (audio)

ek-

: deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways

an eccentric millionaire

: deviating from an established or usual pattern or style

eccentric products

: deviating from a circular path

especially : elliptical sense 1

an eccentric orbit

: located elsewhere than at the geometric center

also : having the axis or support so located

an eccentric wheel

eccentrically

ik-ˈsen-tri-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce eccentric (audio)

ek-

adverb

eccentric

2 of 2

noun

: a person who behaves in odd or unusual ways : an eccentric person

: a mechanical device consisting of an eccentric (see eccentric entry 1 sense 2b) disk communicating its motion to a rod so as to produce reciprocating motion

Did you know?

Eccentric was originally a technical term at home in the fields of geometry and astronomy. It comes from a Latin word meaning “not having the earth at its center,” and ultimately has its root in a Greek word with various meanings including “stationary point of a pair of compasses” and “midpoint of a circle or sphere.” But its figurative use is long-established too: as far back as the 17th century the word was used to describe people and things that deviate from what is conventional, usual, or accepted.

Synonyms

Adjective

bizarre
bizarro
cranky
crazy
curious
erratic
far-out
funky
funny
kinky
kooky
kookie
odd
off-kilter
off-the-wall
offbeat
out-of-the-way
outlandish
outré
peculiar
quaint
queer
queerish
quirky
remarkable
rum [chiefly British]
screwy
spaced-out
strange
wacky
whacky
way-out
weird
weirdo
wild

Noun

character
codger
crack
crackbrain
crackpot
crank
flake
fruitcake
head case
kook
nut
nutcase
nutter [British slang]
oddball
oddity
original
quiz
screwball
weirdo
zany

See all Synonyms & Antonyms

Example Sentences

Adjective It was Charles Darwin's eccentric mathematician cousin Francis Galton who in 1874 ignited the nature-nurture controversy. …

Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003 Eccentric drifters that normally roam the farthest reaches of the solar system, these daredevils fly so close to the Sun that they pass through its scorching corona.

Maggie McKee, Astronomy, December 2002 In the spit-and-polish Navy, he and his equally unkempt colleagues were regarded as eccentric.

David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999 He was a kind but eccentric man. She's become more eccentric over the years. Noun It wasn't until she [Mother Teresa] had set up a leprosarium outside Calcutta on land provided by the government that I began to see her as an idealist rather than an eccentric.

Bharati Mukherjee, Time, 14 June 1999 To his own townspeople Thoreau was a radical and an eccentric, a man without a vocation, supporting himself doing odd jobs, devoting himself to what seemed to them inconsequential rambles, and living like a hermit on the shores of Walden Pond.

Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987 But Mozart was also an eccentric, brought up not as a creature of society but as a prodigious child speaking a language of sound. Mozart couldn't "handle people," as one former friend put it.

Edward Rothstein, New York Times Book Review, 31 Oct. 1982 an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In May, an eccentric 30-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire named Sam Bankman-Fried made a startling proclamation.

Freddy Brewster, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 As Kimye’s divorce grew more acrimonious, West transformed from a lovably eccentric patriarch—the kind of dad who surprised his kids by taking them to school in fire trucks—to the villain of the Kardashian universe.

M. J. Corey, The New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2022 South African actor Gugwana Diamini is very funny as the eccentric Rafiki, Mufasa’s shaman baboon.

Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022 That means pop-up events, growing classes, clothing products and creating memorable brands with eccentric logos that customers are already familiar with once there’s a legal route to sales.

Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2022 The eccentric and hilarious co-founder of Frame took time off from building a mini skate ramp for his son in Amagansett to take over the new and trendy West Village restaurant, The Noortwyck.

Olive Leatherwood, Vogue, 26 Aug. 2022 At the time, coverage of Chol Soo’s case in this newspaper and elsewhere tended to highlight J. Tony Serra, an eccentric former civil rights attorney who took on his case.

Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 Faull’s family sued the eccentric software guru John McAfee for Faull’s wrongful death in Orlando in November 2013, a year following Faull’s alleged murder.

Joe Mario Pedersen, Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2022 Momoa shows off his range in Slumberland with the often comedic role of an eccentric outlaw named Flip, who helps young Nemo (Marlow Barkley) navigate the dream world to be reunited with her late father.

Glenn Garner, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2022

Noun

Finally, bold Mercury squares eccentric Uranus, creating an erratic atmosphere that must be navigated with patience.

Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2022 Slipping into a sheer trench coat, orange shirt-dress and pointed-toe calf-high boots, Mabel looks perfectly at home amongst both the stylish and the eccentric at Alice’s (Cara Delevingne) art gallery.

Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 7 Dec. 2020 Perhaps no one appreciated it more than Thompson, Mychal’s son and Golden State’s adorable eccentric, a pure shooter who blew out his knee in the 2019 Finals, then tore his Achilles while rehabbing the knee.

Jason Gay, WSJ, 17 June 2022 Highsmith was a genuine eccentric with an amazingly hectic love life.

Riza Cruz, ELLE, 8 June 2022 Uncle Matthew, like many of the weirdo aristocrats in the Radletts’ circle, is an old-fashioned English eccentric: wealthy and supremely out of touch.

Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 27 July 2021 Grainger deposited his luggage in the trunk of the car and, as was his wont, this most eccentric of all major composers jogged alongside the taxi to the train station.

Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2022 The game of baseball has always had a special place for the eccentric.

Leigh Montville, WSJ, 26 May 2022 And this Spring/Summer 2022 is all about high/low, bold, the look for less and an abundance of attitude — a playground for the good, the great and the eccentric.

Tyrus Townsend, Essence, 28 Apr. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Medieval Latin ecentricus, excentricus "not concentric with another circle, (of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center," from Late Latin eccentros, eccentrus "not having the earth at its center" (borrowed from Greek ékkentros, from ek- ec- + -kentros, adjective derivative of kéntron "sting, goad, point, stationary point of a pair of compasses, midpoint of a circle or sphere") + Latin -icus -ic entry 1 — more at center entry 1

Noun

Middle English excentryke "planetary orbit of which the earth is not the center," borrowed from Medieval Latin excentricus, noun derivative of ecentricus, excentricus "(of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center" — more at eccentric entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Noun

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 2

eccentric 1 of 2

adjective

as in bizarre

different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion his eccentric decorating style isn't going over well with the neighbors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

bizarre
strange
funny
weird
odd
erratic
peculiar
curious
crazy
unusual
quirky
remarkable
abnormal
offbeat
outré
kooky
wacky
unconventional
unique
weirdo
outlandish
funky
kinky
whacky
quaint
wild
off-the-wall
outrageous
bizarro
queer
screwy
off-kilter
extraordinary
kookie
cranky
way-out
fantastical
uncommon
queerish
far-out
out-of-the-way
spaced-out
rum
outstanding
atypical
idiosyncratic
freakish
fantastic
aberrant
freak
freaky
rare
prominent
flaky
unorthodox
phantasmagoric
conspicuous
striking
nonconformist
singular
noticeable
notable
shocking
phenomenal
puzzling
baffling
phantasmagorical
perplexing
bewildering
salient
confounding
crotchety
unwonted
addlepated
uncustomary
mystifying
out-there
atrocious
nonmainstream

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ordinary
normal
typical
usual
average
prosaic
unremarkable
conservative
standard
conventional
commonplace
routine
everyday
garden
conformist
unexceptional
familiar
workaday
predictable
run-of-the-mill
common
frequent
regular
habitual
customary
expected
knee-jerk
wonted

eccentric

2 of 2

noun

as in character

a person of odd or whimsical habits an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle

Synonyms & Similar Words

character
oddball
zany
original
weirdo
bohemian
maverick
screwball
crackpot
crank
kook
odd duck
codger
oddity
nutcase
nut
nutter
rarity
flake
freak
fruitcake
nonconformist
crackbrain
head case
quiz
crack
piece of work
geezer
quixote
coot
curio
fantast
fantastico

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sheep
conformist
follower
conformer

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of eccentric are erratic, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, singular, strange, and unique. While all these words mean "departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected," eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.

the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers

While the synonyms erratic and eccentric are close in meaning, erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.

a friend's suddenly erratic behavior

While in some cases nearly identical to eccentric, odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.

an odd sense of humor

Although the words outlandish and eccentric have much in common, outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.

outlandish fashions of the time

The meanings of peculiar and eccentric largely overlap; however, peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness.

the peculiar status of America's first lady

In some situations, the words quaint and eccentric are roughly equivalent. However, quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.

a quaint fishing village

The words singular and eccentric can be used in similar contexts, but singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.

a singular feeling of impending disaster

The words strange and eccentric are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable.

a journey filled with strange sights

The synonyms unique and eccentric are sometimes interchangeable, but unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.

a career unique in the annals of science

单词	eccentric
释义	eccentric 1 of 2 adjective ec·cen·tric ik-ˈsen-trik ek- 1 a : deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways an eccentric millionaire b : deviating from an established or usual pattern or style eccentric products 2 a : deviating from a circular path especially : elliptical sense 1 an eccentric orbit b : located elsewhere than at the geometric center also : having the axis or support so located an eccentric wheel eccentrically ik-ˈsen-tri-k(ə-)lē ek- adverb eccentric 2 of 2 noun 1 : a person who behaves in odd or unusual ways : an eccentric person 2 : a mechanical device consisting of an eccentric (see eccentric entry 1 sense 2b) disk communicating its motion to a rod so as to produce reciprocating motion Did you know? Eccentric was originally a technical term at home in the fields of geometry and astronomy. It comes from a Latin word meaning “not having the earth at its center,” and ultimately has its root in a Greek word with various meanings including “stationary point of a pair of compasses” and “midpoint of a circle or sphere.” But its figurative use is long-established too: as far back as the 17th century the word was used to describe people and things that deviate from what is conventional, usual, or accepted. Synonyms Adjective bizarre bizarro cranky crazy curious erratic far-out funky funny kinky kooky kookie odd off-kilter off-the-wall offbeat out-of-the-way outlandish outré peculiar quaint queer queerish quirky remarkable rum [chiefly British] screwy spaced-out strange wacky whacky way-out weird weirdo wild Noun character codger crack crackbrain crackpot crank flake fruitcake head case kook nut nutcase nutter [British slang] oddball oddity original quiz screwball weirdo zany See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Adjective It was Charles Darwin's eccentric mathematician cousin Francis Galton who in 1874 ignited the nature-nurture controversy. … Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003 Eccentric drifters that normally roam the farthest reaches of the solar system, these daredevils fly so close to the Sun that they pass through its scorching corona. Maggie McKee, Astronomy, December 2002 In the spit-and-polish Navy, he and his equally unkempt colleagues were regarded as eccentric. David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999 He was a kind but eccentric man. She's become more eccentric over the years. Noun It wasn't until she [Mother Teresa] had set up a leprosarium outside Calcutta on land provided by the government that I began to see her as an idealist rather than an eccentric. Bharati Mukherjee, Time, 14 June 1999 To his own townspeople Thoreau was a radical and an eccentric, a man without a vocation, supporting himself doing odd jobs, devoting himself to what seemed to them inconsequential rambles, and living like a hermit on the shores of Walden Pond. Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987 But Mozart was also an eccentric, brought up not as a creature of society but as a prodigious child speaking a language of sound. Mozart couldn't "handle people," as one former friend put it. Edward Rothstein, New York Times Book Review, 31 Oct. 1982 an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle See More Recent Examples on the Web Adjective In May, an eccentric 30-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire named Sam Bankman-Fried made a startling proclamation. Freddy Brewster, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 As Kimye’s divorce grew more acrimonious, West transformed from a lovably eccentric patriarch—the kind of dad who surprised his kids by taking them to school in fire trucks—to the villain of the Kardashian universe. M. J. Corey, The New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2022 South African actor Gugwana Diamini is very funny as the eccentric Rafiki, Mufasa’s shaman baboon. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022 That means pop-up events, growing classes, clothing products and creating memorable brands with eccentric logos that customers are already familiar with once there’s a legal route to sales. Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2022 The eccentric and hilarious co-founder of Frame took time off from building a mini skate ramp for his son in Amagansett to take over the new and trendy West Village restaurant, The Noortwyck. Olive Leatherwood, Vogue, 26 Aug. 2022 At the time, coverage of Chol Soo’s case in this newspaper and elsewhere tended to highlight J. Tony Serra, an eccentric former civil rights attorney who took on his case. Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022 Faull’s family sued the eccentric software guru John McAfee for Faull’s wrongful death in Orlando in November 2013, a year following Faull’s alleged murder. Joe Mario Pedersen, Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2022 Momoa shows off his range in Slumberland with the often comedic role of an eccentric outlaw named Flip, who helps young Nemo (Marlow Barkley) navigate the dream world to be reunited with her late father. Glenn Garner, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2022 Noun Finally, bold Mercury squares eccentric Uranus, creating an erratic atmosphere that must be navigated with patience. Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2022 Slipping into a sheer trench coat, orange shirt-dress and pointed-toe calf-high boots, Mabel looks perfectly at home amongst both the stylish and the eccentric at Alice’s (Cara Delevingne) art gallery. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 7 Dec. 2020 Perhaps no one appreciated it more than Thompson, Mychal’s son and Golden State’s adorable eccentric, a pure shooter who blew out his knee in the 2019 Finals, then tore his Achilles while rehabbing the knee. Jason Gay, WSJ, 17 June 2022 Highsmith was a genuine eccentric with an amazingly hectic love life. Riza Cruz, ELLE, 8 June 2022 Uncle Matthew, like many of the weirdo aristocrats in the Radletts’ circle, is an old-fashioned English eccentric: wealthy and supremely out of touch. Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 27 July 2021 Grainger deposited his luggage in the trunk of the car and, as was his wont, this most eccentric of all major composers jogged alongside the taxi to the train station. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2022 The game of baseball has always had a special place for the eccentric. Leigh Montville, WSJ, 26 May 2022 And this Spring/Summer 2022 is all about high/low, bold, the look for less and an abundance of attitude — a playground for the good, the great and the eccentric. Tyrus Townsend, Essence, 28 Apr. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Adjective borrowed from Medieval Latin ecentricus, excentricus "not concentric with another circle, (of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center," from Late Latin eccentros, eccentrus "not having the earth at its center" (borrowed from Greek ékkentros, from ek- ec- + -kentros, adjective derivative of kéntron "sting, goad, point, stationary point of a pair of compasses, midpoint of a circle or sphere") + Latin -icus -ic entry 1 — more at center entry 1 Noun Middle English excentryke "planetary orbit of which the earth is not the center," borrowed from Medieval Latin excentricus, noun derivative of ecentricus, excentricus "(of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center" — more at eccentric entry 1 First Known Use Adjective circa 1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1b Noun 1827, in the meaning defined at sense 2 Kids Definition eccentric 1 of 2 adjective ec·cen·tric ik-ˈsen-trik ek- 1 : acting or thinking strangely an eccentric man 2 : not of the usual or normal kind eccentric ideas eccentric 2 of 2 noun : a person who behaves strangely Medical Definition eccentric 1 of 2 adjective ec·cen·tric ik-ˈsen-trik, ek- : deviating from an established pattern or from accepted usage or conduct eccentric 2 of 2 noun : an eccentric individual eccentric 1 of 2 adjective as in bizarre different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion his eccentric decorating style isn't going over well with the neighbors Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance bizarre strange funny weird odd erratic peculiar curious crazy unusual quirky remarkable abnormal offbeat outré kooky wacky unconventional unique weirdo outlandish funky kinky whacky quaint wild off-the-wall outrageous bizarro queer screwy off-kilter extraordinary kookie cranky way-out fantastical uncommon queerish far-out out-of-the-way spaced-out rum outstanding atypical idiosyncratic freakish fantastic aberrant freak freaky rare prominent flaky unorthodox phantasmagoric conspicuous striking nonconformist singular noticeable notable shocking phenomenal puzzling baffling phantasmagorical perplexing bewildering salient confounding crotchety unwonted addlepated uncustomary mystifying out-there atrocious nonmainstream Antonyms & Near Antonyms ordinary normal typical usual average prosaic unremarkable conservative standard conventional commonplace routine everyday garden conformist unexceptional familiar workaday predictable run-of-the-mill common frequent regular habitual customary expected knee-jerk wonted See More eccentric 2 of 2 noun as in character a person of odd or whimsical habits an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle Synonyms & Similar Words character oddball zany original weirdo bohemian maverick screwball crackpot crank kook odd duck codger oddity nutcase nut nutter rarity flake freak fruitcake nonconformist crackbrain head case quiz crack piece of work geezer quixote coot curio fantast fantastico Antonyms & Near Antonyms sheep conformist follower conformer Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of eccentric are erratic, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, singular, strange, and unique. While all these words mean "departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected," eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior. the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers While the synonyms erratic and eccentric are close in meaning, erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating. a friend's suddenly erratic behavior While in some cases nearly identical to eccentric, odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected. an odd sense of humor Although the words outlandish and eccentric have much in common, outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric. outlandish fashions of the time The meanings of peculiar and eccentric largely overlap; however, peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness. the peculiar status of America's first lady In some situations, the words quaint and eccentric are roughly equivalent. However, quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness. a quaint fishing village The words singular and eccentric can be used in similar contexts, but singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness. a singular feeling of impending disaster The words strange and eccentric are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable. a journey filled with strange sights The synonyms unique and eccentric are sometimes interchangeable, but unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel. a career unique in the annals of science
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eccentric

adjective

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

noun

Medical Definition

adjective

noun

adjective

noun

Synonym Chooser