outlandish

out·land·ish | \ ˌau̇t-ˈlan-dish

Definition of outlandish

1 : of or relating to another country : foreign saw many outlandish animals at the zoo

2a : 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.

Other Words from outlandish Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about outlandish

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Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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.

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 on the Web His salary was outlandish by Japanese standards, but his greatest sin was making the firm into a corporate governance basket case. — Jeff Kingston For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Ghosn's dramatic escape could bring much-needed reform to Japanese companies," 17 Jan. 2020 The possibility isn’t so outlandish if Daniels adds a right-handed bat to play first. — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "If Rangers’ Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor aren’t better than last season, it may be time for drastic measures," 16 Jan. 2020 The multiple is not outlandish for a high-growth company in an exciting market, and stocks are currently expensive by historical measures. — Glenn Peoples, Billboard, "What Vivendi's Pending Sale of Some of UMG Could Mean," 22 Aug. 2019 The seemingly outlandish premise is actually a real treat to digest. — Tiffany Kelly, Popular Mechanics, "The 13 Best Science Fiction Books of 2017," 29 Dec. 2017 That is outlandish, even by the standards of today’s politics. — Hope Yen, The Denver Post, "Fact check: Trump and his so-they-say accusations," 23 Nov. 2019 The quest to accrue retweets regularly drives users to tweet outlandish comments, extremist opinions, fake news, or worse. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Why social media is friend to far-right politicians around the world," 30 Oct. 2018 Many of those promises seem outlandish when nursing a hangover the next morning. — The Economist, "Almost half of people stick to a New Year’s resolution," 31 Dec. 2019 Republicans must set aside petty, unrelated debates about process and Democrats must set aside their anger over Trump’s outlandish behavior and disastrous public policy decisions, to weigh the evidence outside of partisan considerations. — The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, "Editorial: Buck’s absence from impeachment hearings undermines his opposition," 15 Dec. 2019

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.