Definition of weirdnext
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Synonym Chooser

How is the word weird distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words eerie and uncanny are common synonyms of weird. While all three words mean "mysteriously strange or fantastic," weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

When would eerie be a good substitute for weird?

While in some cases nearly identical to weird, eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

When might uncanny be a better fit than weird?

The meanings of uncanny and weird largely overlap; however, uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

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 weird Arturia is adding to its Freak line of proudly weird digital synths with the MiniFreak 49. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026 Nothing about Capra is weirder, to be honest, than the way in which, from one film of his to the next, suicide tugs at our sleeve. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 The grey alien was a must-have, especially given the UFO floating atop this display piece, but the one-off monster of the week, Flukeman, felt like a weird choice. — Ian Stokes, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2026 That sentence would have sounded like insanity a few decades ago, but in the strange world of Hollywood in the 2020s, weirder might really be better. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for weird
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weird
Adjective
  • The cookie shops have a rotating menu of cookies with elaborate toppings, sometimes offering bizarre flavors such as everything bagel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Skerritt co-starred opposite Kathy Baker, playing his doctor wife in the community of Rome, Wisconsin, a place with bizarre happenings, like having a robber leaving a trail of frogs or the pope becoming the primary witness to a murder.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Graveyards, which would seem haunted by definition, are popular destinations, and a few in the state are legendary for their eerie atmospheres and ghost sightings.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
  • See 15 inflatables and eight animatronics lining the lawn, creating a scene that’s both eerie and whimsical to delights neighbors.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • In 2026, the gemlike Brooklyn venue lent Kushner’s project a magical quality, turning the audience into ghosts from the future, eavesdropping on the fall of the Weimar Republic but unable to intervene.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But the familiarity of the fantasy elements and the brusqueness with which they’re treated would be forgivable if Wildwood did a better job exploring how the real world connects to the magical side of the story.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • And now Great Question will, hopefully CBS News thinks, bring that voice to new places, in a digital expansion that is unusual for an evening news anchor.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But the book walks the reader through Raichlen’s unusual path to becoming a food writer obsessed with the art of barbecuing.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • After Orson’s reading from the novel, the broadcast cuts in on a weather report that is then followed by a dance music concert, but the smooth tango music is interrupted by breaking news of strange explosions on Mars.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • However, a strange light phenomenon and the arrival of her physicist ex-husband pull her back into the scientific world.
    — Cooper Katz McKim, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • What unfolds is a heartbreaking, at times haunting story about a little boy who strove to become a legend, and the woman who understood his manic, at times reckless drive.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, the 1934 photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was a haunting image of a lost world.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Speculating on how a magic trick was done that stumped me in a bar 17 years ago.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The latest 104-qubit simulation, however, accounts for realistic hardware noise, allowing researchers to examine how errors affect magic state cultivation.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • As the country hurtles toward a pivotal but divisive election, Netflix has done us all a favor by dropping four documentaries about really funny people this month.
    — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • New York is getting roasted for an awkward giveaway T-shirt gaffe, made funnier by the team proudly posting the evidence on social media.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Weird.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weird. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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