Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

quaint

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of quaint

1 different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion
  • the sudden appearance of a man dressed in quaint clothes immediately drew the notice of passersby
Synonyms of quaint

bizarre, bizarro, cranky, crazy, curious, eccentric, erratic, far-out, funky, funny, kinky, kooky (also kookie), odd, off-kilter, off-the-wall, offbeat, out-of-the-way, outlandish, outré, peculiar, queer, queerish, quirky, remarkable, rum [chiefly British], screwy, spaced-out, strange, wacky (also whacky), way-out, weird, weirdo, wild
Words Related to quaint

aberrant, abnormal, addlepated, flaky

extraordinary, fantastic (also fantastical), freak, freakish, freaky, phantasmagoric (or phantasmagorical), phenomenal

atypical, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted

conspicuous, notable, noticeable, outstanding, prominent, salient, striking

atrocious, outrageous, shocking

crotchety, idiosyncratic, nonconformist, nonmainstream, out-there, unconventional, unorthodox

baffling, bewildering, confounding, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling
Near Antonyms of quaint

average, commonplace, everyday, garden, normal, ordinary, prosaic, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, typical, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual, workaday

conformist, conservative, conventional

expected, familiar, knee-jerk, predictable

common, customary, frequent, habitual, regular, wonted
2 pleasantly reminiscent of an earlier time
  • a quaint general store on one of the back roads of Vermont
Synonyms of quaint

antique, old-fashioned, old-school, old-time, old-timey, old-world, oldfangled, retro, retrograde, vintage
Words Related to quaint

antiquated, moldy, obsolete, rinky-dink

historic, historical, olden, traditional

old hat, outdated, outmoded, out-of-date, outworn, passé, superannuated

dated, fusty, moth-eaten, musty, stodgy

aged, age-old, ancient, antediluvian, atavistic, fossilized, hoary, venerable

bygone, erstwhile, former, late, past

forgotten, remote

ageless, dateless

timeless

anachronistic (also anachronic), anachronous
Near Antonyms of quaint

fresh, new

chic, designer, fashionable, smart, stylish

modernized, refurbished, remodeled, renewed, updated

last, latest

futuristic, high-tech (also hi-tech), latter-day, nontraditional

recent
Antonyms of quaint

contemporary, current, hot, mod, modern, modernist, modernistic, new age, newfangled, new-fashioned, present-day, red-hot, space-age, state-of-the-art, ultramodern, up-to-date

Synonym Discussion of quaint

strange, singular, unique, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, odd, quaint, outlandish mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected. strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable.
    • a journey filled with strange sights
singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.
    • a singular feeling of impending disaster
unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.
    • a career unique in the annals of science
peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness.
    • the peculiar status of America's first lady
eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.
    • the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers
erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.
    • a friend's suddenly erratic behavior
odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.
    • an odd sense of humor
quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.
    • a quaint fishing village
outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.
    • outlandish fashions of the time

Learn More about quaint

  1. See words that rhyme with quaint Dictionary: Definition of quaint Spanish Central: Translation of quaint Nglish: Translation of quaint for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of quaint for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up quaint? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

reverberate

Listen to the pronounciation of reverberate

to reflect, repel, echo, or resound

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. catamount Vermont enters the Round of 64

  2. mendacious, mendacity George Conway calls Trump a liar

  3. crawdad New novel makes waves

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games