weird — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Having an unusually strange character or behaviour.

   Synonyms

   oddoddballpeculiarstrangewacko

   Examples

   There are lots of weird people in this place.

2. Deviating from the normal; bizarre.

   Synonyms

   bizarreoddout of the ordinarystrange

   Examples

   It was quite weird to bump into all my ex-girlfriends on the same day.

   It was weird for him to watch boys play with Barbie dolls.

   More examples (2)

   The best recent VC discs start from the relentlessness of gabber and digital hardcore, and yank it in a weirder direction.

   […] filled with laphet. Fermented tea leaves kneaded with peanut oil, laphet is, hands-down, Myanmar's weirdest and most wonderful contribution to world cuisine.

3. Relating to weird fiction ("a macabre subgenre of speculative fiction").

   Examples

   a weird story

   More examples (1)

   In his introduction to the 1955 volume, [Ray] Bradbury singles out these stories as oddities in his canon — he wrote this kind of tale before his twenty-sixth birthday (1946), and rarely since. They are pure fantasy of the "weird" sort and include some of Bradbury's most striking pieces: "The Scythe" (1943), "The Lake" (1944), "The Jar" (1944), "Skeleton" (1945), and "The Small Assassin" (1946)

4. Belonging, pertaining, or related to fate, destiny, or to the Fates; able to influence fate.

   Synonyms

   fatefulforeordainedpredestined

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Whiles I ſtood rapt in the wonder of it, came Miſſiues from the King, who all-hail'd me Thane of Cawdor, by which Title before, these weyward Sisters saluted me, and referr'd me to the comming on of time, with haile, King that ſhalt be.

5. Related to witches or witchcraft; supernatural; unearthly; suggestive of witches, witchcraft or unearthliness; uncanny; unearthly.

   Synonyms

   witchishwitchlikewitchlywitchy

   Examples

   Those sweet, low tones, that seemed like a weird incantation.

   More examples (1)

   It may be in that dark hour at the burn-foot, before the spate caught her, she had been given grace to resist her adversary and fling herself upon God's mercy. And it would seem that it had been granted; for when he came to the Skerburnfoot, there in the corner sat the weird wife Alison, dead as a stone.

6. Having super- or preternatural power.

   Usage

   • broadly

   Synonyms

   eeriespookyuncanny

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Naphtha lamps shed a weird light over a busy scene, for the work was being continued night and day. A score or so of sturdy navvies were shovelling and picking along the track.

Noun

1. Fate; destiny; luck.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   kismetlotorlaywyrd

   Examples

   Step by reluctant step, he had come to know his weird. The North must be saved from her.

   In the weird of death shall the hapless be whelmed, and from Doom’s dark prison Shall she steal forth never again.

2. A prediction.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   foretaleforetelling

3. A spell or charm.

   Usage

   • Scotland
   • Countable
   • Obsolete
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   enchantment

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Thou shalt bear thy penance lone, / In the Valley of Saint John, / And this weird shall overtake thee;— / Sleep, until a knight shall wake thee, / For feat of arms as far renowned / As warrior of the Table Round.

4. That which comes to pass; a fact.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

5. The Fates.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • Countable
   • in-plural
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   Norns

6. Weirdness.

   Usage

   • Colloquial
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   You know why it feels so good to be amongst real friends? They allow you to be your weird and love you for it. Imagine how it would feel to freely let your weird out and have the world love you for it.

Verb

1. To destine; doom; change by witchcraft or sorcery.

   Usage

   • Transitive

2. To warn solemnly; adjure.

   Usage

   • Transitive

Adverb

1. In a strange manner.

   Usage

   • nonstandard
   • not-comparable
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   funnystrangelyweirdly

   Examples

   I waltzed into that club just as straight as a goose and I kept tripping over things and people were looking at me weird.

   Man, you're talking weird!

Adjective

1. suggesting the operation of supernatural influences

   Synonyms

   eldritchuncannyunearthly

   Examples

   an eldritch screech

   the three weird sisters

   More examples (1)

   an unearthly light

2. strikingly odd or unusual