Definition of ECCENTRIC

Choose the Right Synonym for eccentric

Adjective

strange, singular, unique, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, odd, quaint, outlandish mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected. strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable. a journey filled with strange sights singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness. a singular feeling of impending disaster unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel. a career unique in the annals of science peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness. the peculiar status of America's first lady eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior. the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating. a friend's suddenly erratic behavior odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected. an odd sense of humor quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness. a quaint fishing village outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric. outlandish fashions of the time

Did You Know?

Adjective

Eccentric comes to us through Middle English from the Medieval Latin word eccentricus, but it is ultimately derived from a combination of the Greek words ex, meaning "out of," and kentron, meaning "center." The original meaning of "eccentric" in English was "not having the same center" (as in "eccentric spheres"). In this sense, it contrasts with concentric, meaning "having a common center" (as in "concentric circles, one within another"). But since at least 1630, English speakers have also used "eccentric" to describe individuals who are figuratively off-center. It can also be used to describe something that doesn't follow a truly circular path, as in "an eccentric orbit."

Examples of eccentric in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective In November, my cousin’s ex, an eccentric who actually lives in the bush, had to flee with his dog. — Time, "Most Australians Don't Spend a Lot of Time Thinking About the Bush. The Wildfires Remind Us What We Could Lose," 23 Jan. 2020 But that game, and the ascendance of Yoko Taro's eccentric design ideas, would have never happened without this one. 6. — Julie Muncy, Wired, "The Decade's 10 Most Influential Videogames," 28 Dec. 2019 Fellowship surrounding the holiday season should involve a level of patience toward the quirky, the eccentric, and the misbegotten. — Amy Dickinson, The Denver Post, "Ask Amy: Eccentric in-law is invited to shut up," 14 Nov. 2019 Fellowship surrounding the holiday season should involve a level of patience toward the quirky, the eccentric, and the misbegotten. — Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, "Ask Amy: In-law holiday invite includes the caveat ‘Don’t be weird’," 14 Nov. 2019 Fellowship surrounding the holiday season should involve a level of patience toward the quirky, the eccentric, and the misbegotten. — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, "Eccentric in-law is invited to shut up," 14 Nov. 2019 Regardless, this is the smartest the Bears have looked in April since before former GM Phil Emery arrived in 2012 with his overly eccentric ideas for change. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Everything relative, but after draft Bears can say they're most improved team in NFC North," 28 Apr. 2018 This collection offered eccentric new ideas, with riffs on florals, pastel outerwear, and layering. — Lindsay Peoples, The Cut, "The 7 Biggest Sleeper Hits of Fashion Week," 16 Feb. 2018 Fortunately, both Edison and Morris were eccentric and brilliant enough to make even a life told in reverse a compelling experience. — Washington Post, "Thomas Edison’s brilliant life, told in reverse," 27 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In the 18 years that Owens has put on runway collections, first in New York and since 2003 in Paris, the designer has risen from a fringe eccentric to one of fashion’s most essential, provocative, and inspiring voices. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "“There’s Inspiration Everywhere”: Rick Owens on His Career Highs and His Two New Books," 24 Oct. 2019 The dinner scene in this ensemble comedy-drama offers ample evidence: Conservative Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson) is wound too tight in a family full of liberals and/or eccentrics. — Tim Carman, Washington Post, "The 10 greatest food scenes from holiday movies and what they really mean," 18 Dec. 2019 The dinner scene in this ensemble comedy-drama offers ample evidence: Conservative Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson) is wound too tight in a family full of liberals and/or eccentrics. — Tim Carman, Houston Chronicle, "The 10 greatest food scenes from holiday movies and what they really mean," 24 Dec. 2019 The doc depicts Stanley as an eccentric who, for example, secretly returned to the Moreau set dressed as one of the movie’s half-man, half-animal beasts and worked as an extra. — Clark Collis, EW.com, "Color Out of Space: On the set of Richard Stanley's wild comeback film with Nicolas Cage," 17 Dec. 2019 Many of the people who helped build Silicon Valley were hippies, eccentrics, and amateur hobbyists who prided themselves on operating outside of the institutions that had a lot of money and influence. — Sarah Todd, Quartz, "The Steve Jobs speech that made Silicon Valley obsessed with pirates," 22 Oct. 2019 What prosecutors labeled a conspiracy to thwart a congressional investigation, Stone’s lawyers framed as meaningless bragging and confusion among a group of eccentrics. — Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, "At trial, Roger Stone claims he was a player who got played," 7 Nov. 2019 If barbecue and Cajun are the mom and dad of 225° Urban Smoke, their kids are the ragtag band of Southern eccentrics drawing on the wall with crayons. — Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, "Review: Cajun food, barbecue are soulmates at 225° Urban Smoke in San Antonio," 19 Sep. 2019 Canning is careful not to portray these parents as hardcore eccentrics or extreme athletes but as ordinary people in ordinary towns making out-of-the-ordinary choices, just like her. — Katie Arnold, Outside Online, "A New Film Heralds the Coming Cargo-Bike Revolution," 12 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'eccentric.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for eccentric

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

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