Synonyms of stray

stray 1 of 2

adjective

as in random

lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern

stray sightings of UFO's, none of which have been rigorously analyzed by scientists

Synonyms & Similar Words

• random
• scattered
• arbitrary
• erratic
• accidental
• lucky
• sporadic
• aimless
• haphazard
• contingent
• desultory
• chance
• odd
• casual
• inadvertent
• spot
• slapdash
• irregular
• hit-or-miss
• helter-skelter
• unintended
• incidental
• unintentional
• unconsidered
• unplanned
• catch-as-catch-can
• shotgun
• indiscriminate
• fortuitous
• directionless
• unsystematic
• purposeless
• unpremeditated
• scattershot
• chancy
• disorganized
• disorderly
• undirected
• fluky
• undiscriminating
• objectless
• unselective

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• regular
• systematic
• regular
• constant
• orderly
• fixed
• steady
• continuous
• stable
• organized
• even
• established
• set
• arranged
• aware
• methodical
• nonrandom
• systematized
• conscious
• planned
• deliberate
• managed
• ordered
• purposeful
• thoughtful
• willful
• orchestrated

stray

2 of 2

verb

as in to trespass

to commit an offense

our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trespass
• wander
• fall
• err
• offend
• sin
• transgress
• violate
• fall from grace
• break the law
• infringe
• breach
• lapse
• break
• backslide
• mess up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• justify
• forgive
• pardon
• regret
• repent
• rue

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stray

Adjective

Authorities said the 25-year-old woman was shot outside the portable building where the class was being held, while the 33-year-old woman was inside and hit by a stray bullet. — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

The union claims that a month after the deadly incident, on July 16, a carriage horse stable owner asked Con Ed to check into the possibility of stray voltage in the area. — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 30 July 2026

Verb

The French knew about some of Stalin’s excesses—the show trials, the labor camps, the bloody purges of those who strayed from the party line. — Literary Hub, 21 July 2026

In much of literary fiction, characters and settings are developed slowly, through the gradual accrual of discrete moments that rarely stray from the mundane and the reasonable. — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026