as in nuts
a person of odd or whimsical habits
an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of eccentrics
But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.
—
Air Mail, 2 May 2026
The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 10 Feb. 2026
Greg Brown, the original guitarist and co-founding member of ’90s alt-rock eccentrics Cake, has died.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 9 Feb. 2026
On his mother’s side, a line of troubled souls and eccentrics.
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2026
The logger and railsplitter occasionally encounters American eccentrics, like a chatty drifter prone to sporting bible verses and an old coot of a demolitions expert with a philosophical bent.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
Air Mail, 2 May 2026
The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 10 Feb. 2026
Greg Brown, the original guitarist and co-founding member of ’90s alt-rock eccentrics Cake, has died.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 9 Feb. 2026
On his mother’s side, a line of troubled souls and eccentrics.
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2026
The logger and railsplitter occasionally encounters American eccentrics, like a chatty drifter prone to sporting bible verses and an old coot of a demolitions expert with a philosophical bent.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eccentrics
Noun
-
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, milk and nuts are included in the nine leading causes of food allergies in the United States.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
31 May 2026
-
Flavors unfold in deliberate waves, featuring rich caramel and butterscotch, then roasted nuts, milk chocolate, and a touch of baking spices.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
The singer has voiced several other iconic characters, including Simba in Disney’s 2019 live-action Lion King movie and Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which premiered in April 2026.—
Joyann Jeffrey,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
Janet shares a lot of scenes with different characters, like Robbie (Morris), Lonnie (Abraham Popoola) or even Frankie (Cary Christopher), the little boy who’s friendly with Ben.—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Then there are oddballs – traction control – pretty rare in this class, alongside ABS, and a belt drive.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
-
But the scenes she’s devised for these sympathetically difficult oddballs go nowhere.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The decision to launch Allen’s show in Colbert’s time slot on a Friday was surprising, because none of the current crop of late-night programs airs originals regularly on Fridays, meaning the audience does not regularly tune to them in typical numbers.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
29 May 2026
-
Her exact pair is sold out nearly everywhere, but luckily, Amazon carries a similar style that channels the same sleek feel as the originals.—
Annie Blackman,
InStyle,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
In any case, the TM-B defining feature is the software that sits between the cranks and the motor, shaping the whole cycling experience.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The Republican Party embraced neoconservatism; Buchanan and his cohort were the stewards of an ideology for cranks.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Himes’ novels, like Riley’s films, also run on a bench of eccentric weirdos.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
In a community overflowing with crusty weirdos, Kate O’Flynn’s Patricia emerges as the undeniable standout.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Carl Anka Trent Alexander-Arnold’s England career is a fascinating case study in why team sports can prefer the orthodox to the mavericks.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
The confluence at Black Mountain of émigré artists like Josef and Anni Albers with homegrown mavericks like John Cage and Buckminster Fuller (who constructed his first geodesic dome there) marked an early flowering of this mode of learning, which was still in fine health decades later.—
Christopher Benfey,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
O’Hara worked consistently across her 50-year career in both film and television, best known for playing beloved kooks and amiable wackos, though her range was boundless.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
-
What so many of these talking heads have in common—legitimate experts, well-meaning journalists, and kooks alike—is how costly their recommendations are.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Eccentrics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eccentrics. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
