1
as in characteristics
an odd or peculiar habit
had the peculiarity of constantly fussing with his hair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in features
something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind
as its name indicates, the red-winged blackbird has the distinctive peculiarity of a red patch on its wings
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Recent Examples of peculiarities
The answer lies in the subtleties and peculiarities of the reward system, and our old friend dopamine.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Tracking the beginning of their secret relationship through Thorpe’s 1979 trial, A Very English Scandal is a stellar lesson in how to use the miniseries format to tease out the bizarre peculiarities of real-life drama.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
Caillaux, by the way, is spelled C-A-I-L-L-A-U-X for those unfamiliar with the peculiarities of French pronunciation.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
One senses that there may have been more to the woman’s silence than awestruck agreement, but Bergler cheerfully adds her to his portfolio of case studies, in which patients’ sartorial peculiarities are unfailingly traced to episodes from their pasts.
—Leslie Jamison, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The peculiarities of this year’s Oscar race have it so that Jessie Buckley’s heartwrenching turn in Hamnet already feels too obvious to talk about, and the movie is only in limited release.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
And as the play proceeds, those characters commit, ever more intensely, to their peculiarities.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
These endeavors have given rise to the emerging field of quantum engineering, which aims to utilize the peculiarities of quantum physics for groundbreaking technological innovations.
—Zhixin Wang, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Alongside Mignatti, architect Marco Lecchi coordinated construction, and is intimately familiar with the area and its peculiarities.
—Francesca Longoni, Architectural Digest, 16 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Tracking the beginning of their secret relationship through Thorpe’s 1979 trial, A Very English Scandal is a stellar lesson in how to use the miniseries format to tease out the bizarre peculiarities of real-life drama.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
Caillaux, by the way, is spelled C-A-I-L-L-A-U-X for those unfamiliar with the peculiarities of French pronunciation.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
One senses that there may have been more to the woman’s silence than awestruck agreement, but Bergler cheerfully adds her to his portfolio of case studies, in which patients’ sartorial peculiarities are unfailingly traced to episodes from their pasts.
—Leslie Jamison, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The peculiarities of this year’s Oscar race have it so that Jessie Buckley’s heartwrenching turn in Hamnet already feels too obvious to talk about, and the movie is only in limited release.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
And as the play proceeds, those characters commit, ever more intensely, to their peculiarities.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
These endeavors have given rise to the emerging field of quantum engineering, which aims to utilize the peculiarities of quantum physics for groundbreaking technological innovations.
—Zhixin Wang, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Alongside Mignatti, architect Marco Lecchi coordinated construction, and is intimately familiar with the area and its peculiarities.
—Francesca Longoni, Architectural Digest, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peculiarities
Noun
-
Those four projects shared key characteristics — and those characteristics help explain why White Stadium is a case study in procurement failure.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
-
But the fractures that Turlier’s colleagues observed in mouse embryos display different characteristics.—
Clare Watson,
Quanta Magazine,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Former presidents and their spouses receive lifelong Secret Service protection under federal law, but there are no provisions guaranteeing the elite levels of private travel that were necessary features of their time in office.—
Meg Kinnard,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Beyond the auditorium roof, the studio employed other clever features to keep the building cool in Indore's hot climate, which sees temperatures of 86 °F - 104 °F (30 °C - 40 °C) for most of the year.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Leftovers Batch cooking and freezing a pan of homemade lasagna or a casserole to pull out on a busy weeknight is one of our favorite tricks for fast dinners.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
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The 80-year-old musical-theater legend André De Shields, who plays Old Deuteronomy, is an old cat learning new tricks.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The game has cultivated a fanbase that is generally kind and patient, increasingly rare qualities in the gaming world, and online more broadly.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Those varieties, studied and modified by researchers at UC Davis, were engineered to achieve specific characteristics when harvested at particular times, and to hold those qualities when preserved in a can.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Hybrid fruit trees are created by cross-pollinating two different types of fruit trees to produce a new variety that combines traits from each parent tree.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
27 Feb. 2026
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Participants then rated that person on traits such as warmth, competence, morality, and authenticity.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Anderson-Rhodes said her aunt’s sense of humor was one of her greatest attributes.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
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There are certainly ways to mitigate some of their negative attributes without bulldozing them.—
Brian Barth,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His bars are packed tight with jokes and an unwieldy personality, bursting with vocal quirks and tricks that show a rapper growing into his most confident self.—
Matthew Ritchie,
Pitchfork,
23 Feb. 2026
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Inevitably, their strengths and quirks seeped into the composer’s head so that the musicians helped shape the score instead of just carrying out its instructions.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This post was corrected on 21 January 2021 to clarify attributions.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 Jan. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Peculiarities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peculiarities. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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