outlandish

adjective out·land·ish \ ˌau̇t-ˈlan-dish \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of outlandish

1 : of or relating to another country : foreign

saw many outlandish animals at the zoo

2 a : strikingly out of the ordinary : bizarre

an outlandish costume

Her book is filled with outlandish characters.

spun some outlandish tales

b : exceeding proper or reasonable limits or standards

workers complain of outlandish hours
—Joan E. Rigdon

outlandish government specifications

3 : remote from civilization

no other young men foolish enough to offer to go to such an outlandish station
—Geog. Jour.

—

outlandishly

adverb

—

outlandishness

noun

See outlandish defined for English-language learners

See outlandish defined for kids

outlandish was our Word of the Day on 10/18/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of outlandish in a Sentence

She fills her books with outlandish characters.
The actress wore an outlandish dress to the awards ceremony.

Recent Examples of outlandish from the Web

The song launched the outlandish band into the mainstream, becoming its first to hit the Billboard top 100.

— travis m. andrews, chicagotribune.com, "Forty years ago, 'Rock Lobster' launched the career of the B-52s — and revived John Lennon's," 6 Apr. 2018
Several people have unfavorably compared the game to last year’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, an equally outlandish but more narratively incisive shooter.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "Far Cry 5 wasn’t a game for the Trump era, but it tried to be one anyway," 6 Apr. 2018
At once outlandish and somber, funky and wondrous—the artworks together create the most interactive, large-scale and experimental exhibition in the country, possibly in the world.

— sam spengler, Smithsonian, "How One Museum Curator Is Bringing Burning Man Out of the Desert," 30 Mar. 2018
While Pruitt did receive a stern wag of the finger from White House chief of staff John Kelly for his profligate travel spending, Pruitt’s isn’t anywhere near the most outlandish in the Cabinet.

— umair irfan, Vox, "Outrage from environmentalists will only boost Pruitt’s standing in Trump’s orbit.," 30 Mar. 2018
Escobar is an immigrant for whom Los Angeles is familiar and foreign, outlandish and constrained.

— jeffrey fleishman, latimes.com, "Voices of the City: Experimental vocalist Carmina Escobar uses her voice to explore herself and others," 29 Mar. 2018
Some, such as solar farms in outer space, may sound outlandish.

— The Economist, "The future of solar energy," 28 Mar. 2018
Praise is in order for Beyoncé after managing to keep her cool throughout such an outlandish situation.

— abby jones, Billboard, "Tiffany Haddish Recalls Witnessing Beyonce Get Bit in the Face," 26 Mar. 2018
Nobody blends the outlandish and the otherworldly like comic novelist Christopher Moore.

— jim higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Arundhati Roy, David Sedaris and 8 more authors you need to see in Milwaukee," 9 Mar. 2018

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

Did You Know?

In olden times, English speakers used the phrase outlandish man to refer to a foreigner - or, one who came from an outland, which originally meant "a foreign land." From here, outlandish broadened in usage from a word meaning "from another land" to one describing something unfamiliar or strange. Dress was a common early target for the adjective - Henry Fielding, in Tom Jones (1749), writes of a woman who was drest in one of your outlandish Garments. Nowadays, the word can be applied to anything that strikes us as out of the ordinary, as in the description of one man’s outlandish proposal to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge with a seven-mile tunnel, from the New York Times, September 16, 2001.

First Known Use of outlandish

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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outlandish Synonyms

Synonyms

exotic, fantastic (also fantastical), glamorous (also glamourous), marvelous (or marvellous), romantic, strange;

Antonyms

familiar, nonexotic, nonglamorous, unexotic, unglamorous, unromantic;

alien, foreign;

dark, distant, faraway, remote;

alluring, captivating, enchanting, fascinating, magical;

Synonym Discussion of outlandish

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

OUTLANDISH Defined for English Language Learners

outlandish

adjective

Definition of outlandish for English Language Learners

: very strange or unusual : extremely different from what is normal or expected

OUTLANDISH Defined for Kids

outlandish

adjective out·land·ish \ au̇t-ˈlan-dish \

Definition of outlandish for Students

: very strange or unusual : bizarre

outlandish behavior

outlandish clothes

Learn More about outlandish

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for outlandish Spanish Central: Translation of outlandish Nglish: Translation of outlandish for Spanish speakers

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outlandish

Definition of outlandish

outlandishly

outlandishness

outlandish was our Word of the Day on 10/18/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of outlandish in a Sentence

Recent Examples of outlandish from the Web

Did You Know?

First Known Use of outlandish

outlandish Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of outlandish

OUTLANDISH Defined for English Language Learners

outlandish

Definition of outlandish for English Language Learners

OUTLANDISH Defined for Kids

outlandish

Definition of outlandish for Students

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