1
as in bizarre
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion
an offbeat approach to the task, but it gets the job done
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unusual
noticeably different from what is generally found or experienced
this writer has an enjoyably offbeat sense of humor
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of offbeat
Members discuss whiskey, trade bottles and enjoy rare and offbeat finds.
—
Colin Wrenn, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026
They were carved with patriotic love by a Texas sculptor who studied in Paris under a French modern master and envisioned as the polished centerpieces of a $10 million park, but now sit in a Virginia field as an offbeat, reservations-only, roadside tourist draw.
—Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
On Polk is another intriguing gift shop that sells offbeat and artistic home goods from around the world.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2026
There were ultimately 21 different financiers for the long-gestating project, set in 1970s New Zealand and starring Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and Miriam Margolyes as three offbeat nuns who help a young boy retrieve his late mother from heaven before his father’s new girlfriend takes her place.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for offbeat
Colin Wrenn, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026
They were carved with patriotic love by a Texas sculptor who studied in Paris under a French modern master and envisioned as the polished centerpieces of a $10 million park, but now sit in a Virginia field as an offbeat, reservations-only, roadside tourist draw.
—Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
On Polk is another intriguing gift shop that sells offbeat and artistic home goods from around the world.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2026
There were ultimately 21 different financiers for the long-gestating project, set in 1970s New Zealand and starring Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and Miriam Margolyes as three offbeat nuns who help a young boy retrieve his late mother from heaven before his father’s new girlfriend takes her place.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for offbeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offbeat
Adjective
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The band performed the song, sans Pat Smear who is recovering from a bizarre gardening accident that led to a broken foot, on The Graham Norton Show on Friday.—
Althea Legaspi,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
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All three runners had reached base, and all were tagged out on one bizarre play.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Clinton did not name the member who asked the unusual questions, nor whether the lawmaker was a Republican or a Democrat.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
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This is not unusual for our soon-to-be-deceased hero, who regularly risks injury and embarrassment to help people.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Driven out of the family mansion, mother and child relocate to the less auspicious Belleville, New Jersey — one of the film’s few genuinely funny touches — where Mary whiles away her days in the employ of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
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In what was an otherwise pretty gripping and funny first episode, Tribal Council was kind of a dud.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The uncommon phenomenon — in which Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus will be visible to the naked eye — comes as a treat to astronomers and stargazers alike.—
Matthew Villafane,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
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Unusual efforts to clear records A felony charge against a CPD officer — even one stemming from an off-duty incident — is relatively uncommon, and recent efforts by other former officers to have their criminal charges expunged have led to mixed results.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The backstory The island has been accumulating stories the way its volcanic soil accumulates roots, in layers, each one stranger than the last.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
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These two worlds may seem like strange bedfellows—what does a luxury hotel in Switzerland’s Engadine valley have to do with the king of the 1980s downtown New York art scene?—
Laura May Todd,
Vogue,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Except for the weird assortment of tentacled, befinned, leaflike, rocklike, or altogether bizarre strangers who busily or somnolently populate the stone.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
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The resulting cookies are speckled like bird food (in a good way) and as fueling as a protein bar (without any of the weird ingredients).—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The painstaking work to preserve the species might seem odd to outsiders, but the parrot is just one of many spirited and strange avians in a country where birds reign supreme.—
Charlotte Graham-McLay,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
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Forty-odd women, a significant number among the on-the-ground press, had covered the First World War for American papers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This pillow landed in our best-of Naturepedic roundup for its shredded latex fill and breathable cotton cover, as well as its peculiar shape that lends itself perfectly to pain-free sleep.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
26 Feb. 2026
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On Monday night, someone placed a peculiar bet on the prediction market Kalshi.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offbeat. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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