bizarre

1 of 2

adjective

bi·​zarre bə-ˈzär How to pronounce bizarre (audio)
: strikingly out of the ordinary: such as
a
: odd, extravagant, or eccentric in style or mode
His behavior was bizarre.
bizarre stories
a bizarre outfit
b
: involving sensational contrasts or incongruities
the bizarre timidity of a tall, strapping young man
bizarrely adverb
bizarreness noun

bizarre

2 of 2

noun

botany : a flower with atypical striped marking
Choose the Right Synonym for bizarre

fantastic, bizarre, grotesque mean conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality.

fantastic may connote extravagance in conception or ingenuity of decorative invention.

dreamed up fantastic rumors

bizarre applies to the sensationally strange and implies violence of contrast or incongruity of combination.

a bizarre medieval castle in the heart of a modern city

grotesque may apply to what is conventionally ugly but artistically effective or it may connote ludicrous awkwardness or incongruity often with sinister or tragic overtones.

grotesque statues on the cathedral
though grieving, she made a grotesque attempt at a smile

Examples of bizarre in a Sentence

Adjective I just heard the most bizarre story. She wore a bizarre outfit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The optimal prompts the algorithm spit out were so bizarre, no human is likely to have ever come up with them. IEEE Spectrum, 6 Mar. 2024 Robinson has a history of bizarre statements and has embraced numerous conspiracy theories. Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 Just consider: There are the two bizarre videos he's posted of him swimming shirtless in the nearly frozen waters of Lake Mendota near his Shorewood Hills mansion. Journal Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2024 But poor casting was only half of it — Charles Walters' 1955 adaptation unfortunately reimagines the heroine as an irascible antisocial brat with delusions of grandeur, all explained away by bizarre contemporary psychoanalysis provided in voice-over. EW.com, 4 Mar. 2024 Despite its apparent destructiveness, this bizarre form of mating is a highly efficient reproductive strategy in the deep-sea environment where anglerfish live. Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 At last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference gathering, outside Washington, D.C., a group of white commentators chose to discuss the bizarre notion of Harris duelling Michelle Obama for the Presidential nomination at this summer’s Democratic National Convention. Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024 Within the residential schools, researchers subjected children to bizarre, invasive, and cruel experiments — many of which the wider Canadian public has only learned of recently. Leo Sands, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Taylor Zakhar Perez is recounting a bizarre encounter with a fan at the SAG Awards 2024. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
Noun
The Celebration tour — on Tuesday in a bizarre, NSFW video featuring a dinner-party game of truth or dare with guests Amy Schumer, Jack Black and Lil Wayne, among others. Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2023 An autumnal trip around your local grocery store will reveal a dizzying array of goods infused with pumpkin spice, from the predictable to the bizarre. Terry Baddoo, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2022 But last Thursday, Jackson had to be ready for the bizarre. Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Oct. 2022 Get goofy with it and live out your bizarre, T-Rex fueled fantasies with this hilarious costume. Blaine Callahan, Hartford Courant, 5 Oct. 2022 Monsoon storms also bring a variety of other bizarre and often amusingly named weather threats, including haboobs, downbursts, gustnadoes, earth fissures and landslides. Joan Meiners, The Arizona Republic, 15 June 2022 Meatball short film aside, this is a great distillation of Sherman's bizarre, off-putting body humor. Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2022 China’s Bored Wukong collection, which launched in November last year, is an anthology of 390 cartoon monkey portraits in which each ape sports a bizarre and, to some degree, unique array of accessories. Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2022 His party-boy energy borders on the maniacal, and his club-ready rhythms flirt with the bizarre. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bizarre.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

French, from Italian bizzarro

Noun

noun derivative of bizarre entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1648, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1753, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bizarre was circa 1648

Dictionary Entries Near bizarre

Cite this Entry

“Bizarre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bizarre. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bizarre

adjective
bi·​zarre
bə-ˈzär
: strikingly unusual or odd : fantastic
bizarrely adverb
bizarreness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on bizarre

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!