unconventional
/ʌnkənˈvɛnʃ(ə)n(ə)l
/adjective
Not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed: his unconventional approach to life...
- As a result of this unconventional approach, what we end up with is a film with dozens of Peter's voices, but without a voice of its own.
- The rather unconventional approach to criminals had its pros and cons, analysts said.
- This production uses some radical techniques and tries to explore unconventional approaches.
Synonyms
unusual, irregular, unorthodox, unfamiliar, uncommon, uncustomary, unwonted, rare, out of the ordinary, atypical, singular, distinctive, individual, individualistic, free-spirited, alternative, different;
new, fresh, novel, newfangled, innovative, groundbreaking, experimental, pioneering, original, unprecedented, unheard of;
eccentric, idiosyncratic, maverick, quirky, odd, strange, bizarre, weird, outlandish, freakish, funny, quaint, queer, curious, abnormal, anomalous, aberrant, extraordinary, offbeat, off-centre, radical, esoteric, nonconformist, bohemian;
French outré, avant-garde;
North American left-field
informal freaky, way out, far out, oddball, wacky, cranky, kinky, screwy, off the wall, something else, madcap, zany, hippy
British informal rum
North American informal kooky, wacko, bizarro
Derivatives
unconventionalism
unconventionality
/ noun ...- After all, what exactly is the distinction between eccentricity, nonconformity, unconventionality, difference, disorder, and criminality?
- ENFPs have a great deal of zany charm, which can ingratiate them to more stodgy types in spite of their unconventionality.
- And the man who ‘dared to take the halo off Gandhi to have a conversation with the man’ in ‘Hey Ram’ has decided to continue his march down the road of unconventionality.
unconventionally
/ adverb ...- As the face of the National Lotto campaign, his hair remains unconventionally long and his minimal beard - recently dyed by Taylor Ferguson in Glasgow - is an attention-seeking purple.
- Plus it's too notoriously remembered for it's own good - but few people can ever give you a valid reason why, except perhaps that it was really unconventionally slow and ecologically aware compared with its peers of that era.
- But as Keynes once remarked, failing conventionally is often less harmful to a professional reputation than succeeding unconventionally.