oddly

adverb

odd·​ly ˈäd-lē How to pronounce oddly (audio)
1
: in an odd manner
2
: as is odd
was quite happy, oddly enough

Example Sentences

the house's oddly shaped roof Their lives had been oddly similar.
Recent Examples on the Web The book’s tone is oddly conversational, however, and the text is laced with exclamation points—more a professor’s riffing lecture than a narrative or well-organized argument. Steve Coll, The New York Review of Books, 1 June 2023 Moments that should deliver a quick plot point drag on, while courtroom scenes—where Comey is clearly at home—are oddly truncated. Jacob Bacharach, The New Republic, 1 June 2023 And there's his oddly moralistic devil character (closer to a used car salesman than the Prince of Darkness), who, upon hearing about the Penn State scandal, breaks his pitchfork, throws in the towel, and quits. Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 31 May 2023 Meanwhile, Justin made the split seem oddly amicable. Women's Health, 30 May 2023 One element of the show that helped inform her performance was, oddly enough, a motion capture suit. Gregory Ellwood, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023 How refreshing, after a season that was, on the whole and especially in recent weeks, cludgily paced and oddly unfocused. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 28 May 2023 Photos of him with those big doe eyes gazing off into the distance, looking oddly contemporary or maybe just timeless in an art shag and hoodie, or sweaty and soulful in Dog Day Afternoon, made for compelling evidence. Vulture, 15 May 2023 Rather oddly, not one of those games — as of now — is against Kansas City, an AFC West rival with whom the Chargers have staged some recent classics. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2023 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of oddly was in 1597

Dictionary Entries Near oddly

Cite this Entry

“Oddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oddly. Accessed 10 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

oddly

adverb
odd·​ly ˈäd-lē How to pronounce oddly (audio)
1
: in an odd manner
was behaving oddly
2
: as is odd
liked the work, oddly enough

More from Merriam-Webster on oddly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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