WEIRD Definition & Meaning

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weird

[ weerd ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

weirder, weirdest.

strange; odd; bizarre:
Wow, that’s a weird getup.
I value our friendship, and I’m afraid if we start dating, it’ll get weird between us.
Informal. not functioning properly or as expected; unstable; broken:
My connection is weird so I can’t tell if they’re getting my messages or not.
The car is great except for a weird compressor that doesn't work when you run the AC at a red light.
involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny:
a weird sound;
weird lights.
Synonyms: , , , , , , ,
Antonyms: , ,
Archaic. concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.

noun

Chiefly Scot.

fate; destiny.
the Weirds, the Fates.

verb phrase

Slang. to feel or cause to feel discomfort, confusion, or fear because of perceived strangeness:
The cultlike admiration of some of her followers always weirded me out a little.

weird

/ ��ɪə�� /

adjective

suggestive of or relating to the supernatural; eerie
strange or bizarre
archaic.
of or relating to fate or the Fates

noun

archaic.
1. fate or destiny
2. one of the Fates
dree one's weird
See dree

verb

tr to destine or ordain by fate; predict

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Derived Forms

ˈ�ɱ𾱰��, adverb
ˈ�ɱ𾱰��Ա��, noun

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

�ɱ𾱰��·�� adverb
�ɱ𾱰��·�Ա�� noun

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of weird¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun werd, wered, wird (northern form), Old English wyrd, weord; akin to worth ²; Middle English adjective originally attributive noun in phrase werde sisters “the Fates” (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of weird¹

Old English ( ge ) wyrd destiny; related to weorthan to become, Old Norse urthr bane, Old Saxon wurd; see worth ²

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Synonym Study

weird, eerie, unearthly, uncanny refer to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law. Weird can refer to that which is suggestive of the fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle. Eerie refers to that which, by suggesting the ghostly, makes one's flesh creep: an eerie moaning from a deserted house. Unearthly refers to that which seems by its nature to belong to another world: an unearthly light that preceded the storm. Uncanny refers to that which is mysterious because of its apparent defiance of the laws established by experience: an uncanny ability to recall numbers. See bizarre.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Just by even mentioning birds, it sort of opens up a door; it’s really weird.

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As an Inuk from northern Quebec, she said it "feels weird" even for her to knock and wait for a response.

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Wanderingly weird, “Dead Outlaw” retains its off-Broadway cred at the Longacre.

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Donald Trump’s fixation on well-ordered forests as an antidote to wildfires seems like a weird obsession, but it is rooted in the same high-modernist thought.

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So this is all weird 1970s electrical engineering jargon for some straightforward commonsense management theory: Set clear objectives, set budgets, don't micromanage.

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How Do You Spell weird?

Spelling tips for weird

The word weird is hard to spell because the i goes before the e in many common words, like believe or chief, but weird doesn’t follow this rule.

How to spell weird: To spell weird, remember that weird is weird; it doesn’t follow the classic “I before E except after C” rule. Another way to remember the order of i and e in weird is that it looks weird if you spell it wierd.

weir weirdo

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