oddball 1 of 2

noun

ˈäd-ˌbȯl How to pronounce oddball (audio)
Definition of oddballnext
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits she's known as the office oddball

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

oddball

2 of 2

adjective

as in bizarre

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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 oddball
Noun
When Artificial does go wide, audiences may be most surprised to find out that the true lead of Artificial isn’t Garfield’s ambitious Altman but Borisov’s brilliant, sweet oddball Ilya Sutskever. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 Germany’s leading indie fest has long made a specialty of outsiders and oddballs — artists who arrived without pedigree, training programs or an obvious industry slot and built the career anyway. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
Adjective
To paraphrase Tolstoy, all slop is alike, but every piece of trash is trashy in its own oddball way. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 But the film, with its appealingly oddball cast – featuring everyone from Sonny Bono and Ricki Lake to Waters’ go-to drag performer Divine – and themes of acceptance and sticking to your dreams changed that. — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for oddball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oddball
  1. eccentric
  2. bizarre
  3. character
  4. unusual
  5. original
  6. kooky
Noun
  • The immature eccentric initially has no plans to head back to the States, until Christy convinces him to stand tall and fight.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Step inside, though, and you’re transported to a bucolic Britain of rolling hills and village greens, bumbling eccentrics and cute, clever farm animals.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of eccentric
Adjective
  • Personnel limitations may have hurt both sides of the ball, but the Ravens have made some bizarre calls on offense and defense during a four-game losing streak.
    — Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 8 Nov. 2026
  • In a bizarre turn of events, on Wednesday November 4th, New York City’s Queens Public Library (QPL) system, which operates 66 branches, experienced an attack on its online networks by a hacker.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of bizarre
Noun
  • Fit Check of the Week Tim Burton, iconoclast filmmaker extraordinaire, has a new capsule with Loewe, which has recreated characters and vignettes from The Nightmare Before Christmas as bags and charms.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Missi Pyle Pyle rounds out the new cast members to join Stick for the show’s second season, with details about her character still underwraps.
    — Francesca Gariano, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of character
Adjective
  • The Wiles interviews stuck out for their candor, which is unusual for a sitting White House chief of staff.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Claude can also flag unusual transactions, duplicate charges, unexpected fees and bills that have gradually increased.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of unusual
Noun
  • The real treasure here is the little fixes and updates that make this masterpiece play better on modern hardware than the original.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Both franchises were American Football League originals, although each has a new nickname these days.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of original
Adjective
  • As usual, Klum worked her go-to team of special effects artists to bring her delightfully-kooky vision to life.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The 23 bedrooms are in the kooky main building and two shepherd’s huts (some have claw-foot baths).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of kooky

Browse Nearby Words

odd
oddball
oddballs
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Cite this Entry

“Oddball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oddball. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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