eccentric
1 of 2adjective
eccentric
2 of 2noun
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
Example Sentences
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 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 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
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
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
eccentric
2 of 2noun
Medical Definition
eccentric 1 of 2
adjective
eccentric
2 of 2noun
eccentric 1 of 2
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- 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 2noun
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.
While the synonyms erratic and eccentric are close in meaning, erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.
While in some cases nearly identical to eccentric, odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.
Although the words outlandish and eccentric have much in common, outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.
The meanings of peculiar and eccentric largely overlap; however, peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness.
In some situations, the words quaint and eccentric are roughly equivalent. However, quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.
The words singular and eccentric can be used in similar contexts, but singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.
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.
The synonyms unique and eccentric are sometimes interchangeable, but unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.