misfit

noun

Definition of misfitnext
as in maverick
a person who is different from other people and who does not seem to belong in a particular group or situation a comic book about a social misfit who discovers his superpower

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 misfit Students describe Oberlin as a kind of oasis, a place where high-school misfits can find a community of outsiders. — Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026 For her role as the leader of the misfit group, Blanchett rocked a shaggy brown lob that stretched down past her shoulders, and a set of choppy micro-bangs held in place by a single bobby pin. — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 4 Sep. 2026 Hollywood wasted no time capitalizing on audiences’ love for Mahoney, Hightower, Jones, Hooks, and the rest of the misfit cadets. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026 Hickey is the charismatic traveling salesman who preaches a distorted vision of salvation to the social misfits and leftist radicals in a dive bar in lower Manhattan, modeled on the denizens of a favorite O’Neill hangout. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for misfit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfit
  1. maverick
  2. outsider
  3. freak
  4. anomaly
  5. loner
  6. eccentric
Noun
  • The two were photographed together backstage at Nelson’s Fourth of July concert this year, and the country maverick features in a new Talarico online campaign video.
    — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Naomi, a maverick environmental lawyer; her husband, banker Amaré; and their longtime friend Raheem, who works as an auto mechanic.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of maverick
Noun
  • Instead, showrunner Meg Marinis opted for a corporate outsider, using Norton’s appointment to reflect the stark financial sacrifices modern hospitals must make just to keep their doors open to the general public.
    — Max Gao, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • This has important implications for how outsiders view the Middle East.
    — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of outsider
Noun
  • Set on the island of Cyprus in 1882, the film blends horror and folklore and revolves around Eleni, an outcast painter whose three children die in a freak accident.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Williams was definitely letting her ex-vangelical freak flag fly on Monday night.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of freak
Noun
  • Cuellar is an institution in South Texas and an anomaly in modern Democratic politics.
    — Justin Papp, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Continuous anomaly detection can also catch budget drift immediately—rather than at month-end—improving our overall operational efficiency.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of anomaly
Noun
  • John Wayne and Gary Cooper, like Ken-san, often played anachronistic loners from a disappearing Arcadia that was being destroyed by hard-nosed modernizers—greedy bankers, railway owners, big-city politicians.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Responding to an ad in the newspaper puts Bernie in contact with Comer’s Araminta, a loner whose ultimate dream is to embalm a human body as the crown jewel of her taxidermy collection, which includes all sorts of fauna.
    — Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of loner
Noun
  • The public reckonings with these figures’ legacies—the troubled former child star gone too soon, the beloved icon, the cult favorite, the complicated eccentric—have come in a cascade.
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Make sure to practice a full range of motion with these and emphasize the eccentric (the way down) part of the movement for maximal time under tension and muscle-building stimulus.
    — Jakob Roze, HEALTH, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of eccentric

Browse Nearby Words

misfiring
misfit
misfits
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Misfit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfit. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zenith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All