unconventional

play

adjective un·con·ven·tion·al \ ˌən-kən-ˈvench-nəl , -ˈven(t)-shə-nᵊl \

Definition of unconventional

:not conventional :not bound by or in accordance with convention :being out of the ordinary

an unconventional outfit

an unconventional thinker

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unconventionality

play \ˌən-kən-ˌven(t)-shə-ˈna-lə-tē\ noun

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unconventionally

adverb

See unconventional defined for English-language learners

See unconventional defined for kids

Examples of unconventional in a Sentence

Her lifestyle is rather unconventional.
the Shakers acquired their name because of their unconventional practice of dancing with shaking movements during worship

Recent Examples of unconventional from the Web

That prompted the two teams to experiment with unconventional measures of dealing with their respective bird business.

— linda wang, The Seattle Times, "Gulls: Winningest team in San Francisco Bay Area baseball," 24 Aug. 2017
Though some of its pizzas are unconventional, every pizza from Pizzanista! has all natural toppings, fresh homemade sauce, and a crust that’s crispy, chewy, and a little bubbly.

— steffi victorioso, Los Angeles Magazine, "Every Pizza at Pizzanista!, Ranked," 23 Aug. 2017
Swap Meet is organized with the creative team behind Thunder-Sky Inc., an unconventional gallery based in Northside.

— melissa reinert, Cincinnati.com, "NKY Roundup: Fun and budget help," 16 Aug. 2017
Weiner's unconventional spelling of the Russian surname reportedly reflects both the pronunciation and how it was spelled up until recently.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Everything We Know So Far About the New TV Show, The Romanoffs," 7 Aug. 2017
In 2015, the unconventional former SMU star became the fifth player to win the NCAA individual title and U.S. Amateur in the same year.

— luke meredith, chicagotribune.com, "Glenbrook North grad Nick Hardy ties for 55th at John Deere Classic," 16 July 2017
Aramco plans to spend $300 billion on projects over the next 10 years to maintain its spare oil production capacity, the biggest by far in OPEC, and boost exploration and output of conventional and unconventional gas, Nasser said. ‘

— wael mahdi, Bloomberg.com, "Aramco to Spend $300 Billion as CEO Frets About Oil Supplies," 10 July 2017
His route might have been unconventional, but the former Valparaiso star and NBA draft pick has been preternaturally focused and driven.

— michael osipoff, Post-Tribune, "Family, hometown lay foundation for Valparaiso's Alec Peters on way to NBA," 7 July 2017
Young Raveendran was an unconventional student who skipped classes to play football and preferred to teach himself at home rather than listen to his teachers.

— saritha rai, Bloomberg.com, "Zuckerberg or Gates? Billionaires Try Opposite Paths for Online Education in India," 20 June 2017

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