bizarre

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

Etymology

Borrowed from French bizarre (“odd, peculiar, bizarre”, formerly “headlong, angry”), then either from Italian bizzarro (“weird, eccentric, frisky”) or, less likely, from Basque bizar (literally “beard”, from the notion that bearded Spanish soldiers made a strange impression on the French).

In classic literature

Synonyms

eccentric, freakish, freaky, flaky, flakey, gonzo, off-the-wall, outlandish, outre

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