eccentric

¹ec·cen·tric

adj \ik-ˈsen-trik, ek-\

Definition of ECCENTRIC

1

a : deviating from an established or usual pattern or style <eccentric products> b : deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways <an eccentric millionaire>

2

a : deviating from a circular path; especially : elliptical 1 <an eccentric orbit> b : located elsewhere than at the geometrical center; also : having the axis or support so located <an eccentric wheel>

— ec·cen·tri·cal·ly \-tri-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of ECCENTRIC

1. He was a kind but eccentric man.
2. She's become more eccentric over the years.
3. It was Charles Darwin's eccentric mathematician cousin Francis Galton who in 1874 ignited the nature-nurture controversy. … —Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003
4. 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
5. In the spit-and-polish Navy, he and his equally unkempt colleagues were regarded as eccentric. —David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999

Origin of ECCENTRIC

Middle English, from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greek ekkentros, from ex out of + kentron center

First Known Use: circa 1630

Related to ECCENTRIC

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

Related Words: aberrant, abnormal, addlepated, flaky; extraordinary, fantastic (also fantastical), freak, freakish, freaky, phantasmagoric (or phantasmagorical), phenomenal; atypical, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted; conspicuous, notable, noticeable, outstanding, prominent, salient, striking; atrocious, outrageous, shocking; crotchety, idiosyncratic, nonconformist, nonmainstream, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox; baffling, bewildering, confounding, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling

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

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See Synonym Discussion at strange

Rhymes with ECCENTRIC

acentric, concentric, dicentric