off-the-wall

adjective

ˈȯf-ṯẖə-ˈwȯl How to pronounce off-the-wall (audio)
Definition of off-the-wallnext
as in bizarre
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion she does have some off-the-wall suggestions about home decorating

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 off-the-wall Leach’s off-the-wall news conferences or postgame interviews, covering everything from Halloween candy to wedding planning, will live forever on YouTube. — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026 Follow Joe for ongoing features about ecotourism as well as off-the-wall travel destinations around the globe. — Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 4 May 2026 What’s your favorite off-the-wall rendition of a birthday anthem? — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026 This was not a year for major turmoil in March or crazy off-the-wall selections by the committee. — Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 15 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for off-the-wall
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-wall
  1. bizarre
  2. funny
  3. strange
  4. weird
  5. odd
  6. peculiar
  7. curious
  8. erratic
Adjective
  • In a bizarre way, meeting the late, great Lynch — whom Watts did an impeccable impression of, pretend cigarette and all — was almost like therapy for the actress, who landed that breakout role at the age of 31.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 27 Sep. 2026
  • In 2018, Entertainment Weekly wrote an oral history of the bizarre entertainment at the 1989 gala.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of bizarre
Adjective
  • Peppino Mazzullo, the Italian actor who provided the voice for the mouse puppet Topo Gigio, best known for his frequent, funny appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, died Wednesday.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
  • While Eisenman’s works are funny at first glance, a nuanced narrative, interweaving the personal and political, can usually be teased out of them.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of funny
Adjective
  • Serena tells him his former boss Elliott Wyatt recommended him highly, which is strange given his former reticence.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Neither does the strange quiet when the trip home begins with one fewer passenger.
    — Robert Duffer, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • Read Cep’s Profile of Kingsolver » Our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about books.
    — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Why is this weird, scammy product now the biggest monster in the room?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of weird
Adjective
  • How odd that your in-laws can call your bed old and ugly, but balk at insulting their neighbor’s castoffs by not using them.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2026
  • This led mathematicians to suspect that the odd values were also likely irrational.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of odd
Adjective
  • For decades, preferences like these were part of the peculiar ecosystem of elite college admissions.
    — Jayson Weingarten, Fortune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Other than its peculiar curvature, the interior of the anti-de Sitter snow globe is a lot like our universe, filled with electrons and atoms.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of peculiar
Adjective
  • Guadagnino is curious, too, about the generational shift in youth culture.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • For more than 158 years, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been the South’s source for culture, community and news for curious minds.
    — Hugo Rojo, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of curious
Adjective
  • Cage has answered with the impulsive, erratic, and frenzied style now allegorized in Spider-Noir as Reilly’s inner monster.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • As his erratic behavior continued, police began to suspect that Randolph had hired Miller to kill Causse, but double crossed him to avoid payment.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of erratic

Browse Nearby Words

off-the-shelf
off-the-wall
of late
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Off-the-wall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-wall. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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