bizarre
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
Bizarre, fantastic, grotesque, weird share a sense of deviation from what is normal or expected. Bizarre means markedly unusual or extraordinarily strange, sometimes whimsically so: bizarre costumes for Mardi Gras; bizarre behavior. Fantastic suggests a wild lack of restraint, a fancifulness so extreme as to lose touch with reality: a fantastic scheme for a series of space cities. In informal use, fantastic often means simply “exceptionally good”: a fantastic meal. Grotesque implies shocking distortion or incongruity, sometimes ludicrous, more often pitiful or tragic: a grotesque mixture of human and animal features; grotesque contrast between the forced smile and sad eyes: a gnarled tree suggesting the figure of a grotesque human being. Weird refers to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law, hence supernatural or uncanny: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle; a weird and ghostly apparition. Informally, weird means “very strange”: weird and wacky costumes; weird sense of humor.
Pop Culture
— Bizarre: A Canadian sketch comedy television series that aired from 1980–1985 in Canada, and in the U.S. on the cable channel Showtime. —Bizarre Creations: A video game developer, based in Liverpool, England, and known for games like Blur (2010), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010), and the Project Gotham Racing series. The name Bizarre Creations came about in 1994 when the then nameless company needed a temporary name and chose “Weird Concepts.” A staff member later used Microsoft Word's Thesaurus on the name, which came up with “Bizarre Creations.” — Mondo Bizarro: A 1966 faux travelogue that mixes often shocking documentary and mockumentary footage. The film is a successor to the 1963 film Mondo Cane, originator of the exploitation documentary genre. — Mondo Bizarro: The name of the twelfth studio album by the New York punk band The Ramones. Released in 1992. — Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: A television travel show that follows host Andrew Zimmern around the world as he tastes unusual local food. First aired in 2007 on the Travel Channel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bizarre
First recorded in 1640–50; from French: “strange, odd,” from Italian bizzarro “quick to anger, choleric,” then “capricious,” then “strange, weird”; further origin disputed
Explanation
Someone or something bizarre is odd or unusual in appearance, style, or character. If your teacher walks into class wearing a purple boa, lime-green cowboy boots, and a scuba mask, you might comment, "How bizarre!" Things that are bizarre often involve strange contrasts or unexpected elements. Bizarre was borrowed from French, from bizarro "angry, fierce, strange," from Spanish, "bold, like a knight." The Spanish word was probably influenced by Basque bizar "a beard," since beards were taken as signs of energy and spirit. Nowadays it takes more than a beard to get you labeled as bizarre. Unpredictable behavior is often called bizarre — like when your little brother decides that he will communicate only in Pig Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing bizarre
Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But then the opinion takes a bizarre turn toward a kind of metacommentary about the Supreme Court’s priorities.
From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026
The bizarre social system from which Sparta derived its strength goes back to its early history.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
A newly published study suggests researchers may soon be able to test this bizarre idea in the lab.
From Science Daily • May 18, 2026
It marked the end of a bizarre and rather unforgettable day in British politics.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
Nothing about the natural world, at first glance, suggests the existence of a gene; indeed, you have to perform rather bizarre experimental contortions to uncover the idea of discrete particles of inheritance.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
