ODDBALL Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

oddball 1 of 2

noun

ˈäd-ˌbȯl

Definition of oddball

as in eccentric

a person of odd or whimsical habits she's known as the office oddball

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

oddball

2 of 2

adjective

as in bizarre

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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

The Wylkes Society’s members include many of the amiable oddballs Miles has met around town. — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026 Survivor planet is a real oddball The gas giant WD 1856 b was first discovered in 2020 by NASA's exoplanet-hunting spacecraft TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and the Spitzer Space Telescope. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 2 July 2026

Adjective

Henry Winkler plays the oddball mayor, Lena Headey the town barkeep. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Running through Saturday, the 4th of July Tuna High School Class reunion takes over the third-tiniest town in Texas, bringing oddball humor and small-town satire into the spotlight. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for oddball

Recent Examples of Synonyms for oddball

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

Adjective

The bizarre explanation brought an end to an episode that generated widespread attention online after Pierre initially accused the courier of stealing the order.

— Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
An exhausting, head-spinning and often downright silly offseason is officially over after college football really kicked off on Thursday (after the always bizarre Week 0 last weekend).

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of bizarre

Noun

That dichotomy surely reflected, consciously or not on Schubert’s part, the circumstances of his life and contradictions of his character.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
Row 34 is exceptional for its updates to New England seafood that revise original classics without losing their character.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of character

Noun

The production’s winking tone blunts some of the original’s tear-jerking climax, yet its intact happy ending offers a surprisingly comforting vision of survival in an age of constant crises.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
The new camera is designed to look like it was pulled directly from the 2000s (rather than the ’80s look of the original), with metallic silver and bubblegum pink options among the blind box shells.

— Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of original

Adjective

Camp’s turn here as a kooky neighbor who stumbles into an unexpected romance is exactly the kind of role that gets a room talking (and laughing).

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are back, too, as their kooky aunts, while Kidman’s character is now the kooky aunt to Bullock’s on-screen daughters, Joey King and Maisie Williams.

— Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of kooky

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“Oddball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oddball. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of oddball

noun

adjective

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