as in distinctive
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Recent Examples of idiosyncratic
The simple dress was crafted with a bevy of fabric ruching, short sleeves and the French luxury fashion house’s idiosyncratic keyhole cutout at the bodice.
—
Julia Teti, Footwear News, 27 Feb. 2026
Sapporo, the capital of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, is home to an idiosyncratic food scene defined by local catch and ice cream sundaes in winter.
—Alex Halberstadt, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2026
None of the choices were obscure or idiosyncratic.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Swapping pointe shoes and pink tights for bare feet and leotards, Graham’s idiosyncratic technique may at first seem a stretch for the Joffrey company.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Third, that comparison to peers ignores the fact that Isom has had to navigate unique idiosyncratic headwinds that no CEO could have prevented and which none of American’s competitors had to deal with.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2026
Fivespan looks for high quality, idiosyncratic businesses with good, strategic assets.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Shi’s bottle list encompasses an idiosyncratic mix of classics and oddballs, including stroppy Austrian natural whites alongside multi-thousand-dollar Burgundies, funky low-intervention oranges from Greece, a few bottles from the Japanese winery Coco Farm.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
Affectless language, the lack of anything like a writer’s idiosyncratic style, is the dead giveaway that nobody’s home.
—Karen Stabiner, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Julia Teti, Footwear News, 27 Feb. 2026
Sapporo, the capital of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, is home to an idiosyncratic food scene defined by local catch and ice cream sundaes in winter.
—Alex Halberstadt, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2026
None of the choices were obscure or idiosyncratic.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
Swapping pointe shoes and pink tights for bare feet and leotards, Graham’s idiosyncratic technique may at first seem a stretch for the Joffrey company.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Third, that comparison to peers ignores the fact that Isom has had to navigate unique idiosyncratic headwinds that no CEO could have prevented and which none of American’s competitors had to deal with.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2026
Fivespan looks for high quality, idiosyncratic businesses with good, strategic assets.
—Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
Shi’s bottle list encompasses an idiosyncratic mix of classics and oddballs, including stroppy Austrian natural whites alongside multi-thousand-dollar Burgundies, funky low-intervention oranges from Greece, a few bottles from the Japanese winery Coco Farm.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
Affectless language, the lack of anything like a writer’s idiosyncratic style, is the dead giveaway that nobody’s home.
—Karen Stabiner, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiosyncratic
Adjective
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The mangrove environment creates a distinctive paddling experience.—
Taylor Haught,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Founded in 1929 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Jawa’s first model was the 500 OHV, which did wonders in establishing the brand’s reputation for solid engineering and distinctive design.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That frequency depends on the shape of each ridge, which guides the waves down with a characteristic speed.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
25 Feb. 2026
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This ornament, situating them as something between a throw pillow and a hand muff, shrouds the thick-boned fore- and hindquarters that give them a characteristic rolling gait.—
Andrew Norman Wilson,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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There are also passports from Lithuania, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Russia, with most identifying information blacked out.—
Scott MacFarlane,
CBS News,
18 Dec. 2025
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Another intriguing possibility is to wait until the wireless world’s progress to ever-shorter wavelengths finally hits the millimeter band, which is small enough to resolve most identifying details.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
16 Jan. 2020
Adjective
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To be sure, some specific industries came under pressure Monday.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
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While the government has some power to affect prices in specific sectors, policy changes can also impact wage growth, something the general population doesn’t typically consider, says Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank.—
Kamaron McNair,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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From the towering pillars of original Tennessee marble preserved in the lounge area to the archive of the original Noels' personal artifacts transforming the mezzanine into an intimate, dark academia library, the Noelle is littered with Easter eggs to the past.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Feb. 2026
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The film examines the push-pull of attraction and rejection on a scope both intimate and global, finding the uneasy space where the two meet.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The caveat is that the most prominent critic is ourselves, which is why being gentle and empathetic to our personal causes and those of others is essential.—
Lisa Stardust,
Vogue,
2 Mar. 2026
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Trying to do what your phone can’t Ziad Asghar, who leads Qualcomm’s wearables and personal AI devices division, said Qualcomm saw the need for a new chip after companies approached them with new gadget concepts.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There must be experts to identify the two or three special players at each age group.—
Philipp Lahm,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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This detailed build also includes a commemorative armored Batman minifigure and a special golden coin built right into the cockpit, which marks 20 years of Lego Batman builds.—
Brittany Anas,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiosyncratic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiosyncratic. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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