offbeat

adjective

ˈȯf-ˈbēt How to pronounce offbeat (audio)
Definition of offbeatnext
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

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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

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 offbeat There was significant excitement over the first-look footage revealing perhaps the world’s biggest movie star transforming himself to become a portly, gray-haired jerk in an offbeat feature focusing on climate change. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026 So not the golden girl, but slightly quirky, with something offbeat about her. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026 Video Visions will serve as a physical distribution outlet for both past Cartuna titles and other recent festival hits that reflect the same offbeat sensibilities. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 23 Sep. 2026 The name stuck, adding another layer to the offbeat personality of the place. — Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for offbeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offbeat
  1. bizarre
  2. unusual
  3. funny
  4. uncommon
  5. strange
  6. weird
  7. odd
  8. peculiar
Adjective
  • The appeal of Bleak House, for instance, is bound up in its bad actors and bizarre names, less so the action.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The Seaside Police Department received the tip about Bumper’s bizarre breakfast invoice in August.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of bizarre
Adjective
  • The order of events in the Weeks recusal was somewhat unusual.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Scheels argued this year that the Ada County Assessor’s Office had overvalued its unusual building.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • Divorced from the context of a map, Texas' congressional districts might just look like a collection of funny shapes.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • China did not find anything funny about the French star laughing at a meme of Mao, the communist dictator whose regime resulted in tens of millions of deaths.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of funny
Adjective
  • Prescription treatments are also uncommon, given to fewer than 1 in 1,000 adolescents who have commercial insurance, according to another study.
    — Bram Sable-Smith, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
  • To be clear, praying for political leaders is hardly novel or uncommon, and the bishops who prayed for blessings could just as easily have been doing so for any supplicant.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of uncommon
Adjective
  • Alexi’s script gets to the heart of the strange, necessary bonds between humans and animals.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Something in the movement of his hands, too fast, too smooth, too precise, and something in the play of the light and shadow across his knuckles, reveals that something strange is at work.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • In the meantime, her public persona has, frankly, grown weirder.
    — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026
  • When Henderson walked into the shed that day, a weird, white, papier-mâché creature on the shelf caught his eye.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of weird
Adjective
  • Anyway, aside from the odd finish, what the Bowl audience got in the broader sense was far from an anticlimax in the overall scheme of things.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
  • His other weapon was his voice, at once coldly precise and dangerously soft; never before had Malkovich’s distinctly odd cadences sounded so menacing.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of odd
Adjective
  • The prosecution, a rare Department of Justice criminal case against a former employee, revisits a tangled and peculiar saga that roiled the final weeks of the 2020 race.
    — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Riley is also of firm belief that Dylan’s peculiar type of vocal delivery, while limited in range, contributed to his Nobel win that other performers fail to possess.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of peculiar

Browse Nearby Words

off base
offbeat
off-color
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Cite this Entry

“Offbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offbeat. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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