Strangest

/ˈstreɪndʒɪst/

adjectivemedium📊CommonDescriptive
1 meaning2 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

1

Most unusual or unexpected; differing from what is usual or normal.

/ˈstreɪndʒɪst/

adjectiveneutralmedium
Descriptive

Most unusual or unexpected

Of all the things that happened yesterday, the strangest was the sudden downpour of rain.

💡 Simply: Imagine something so out of the ordinary, so unlike anything you've seen before. Like, the most unbelievable thing happening – that's the strangest thing you could think of!

👶 For kids: Like something that doesn't make sense or that's very different from what's normal. Like, if a dog starts talking, that's super strange!

More Examples

2

The artist painted the strangest portraits imaginable.

3

He has the strangest ideas about how to run the business.

How It's Used

General conversation

"The strangest thing happened to me today."

Literature

"In the strangest of circumstances, the hero found his way."

Science

"It's the strangest property of these exotic materials!"

Idioms & expressions

strange bedfellows

People or groups who are unlikely to cooperate with each other but do so for a particular reason.

"The political rivals found themselves as strange bedfellows in the coalition government."

It's a strange thing

An expression used to introduce or emphasize something unusual or unexpected.

"It's a strange thing, but I seem to have lost my keys again."

From Old French estrange (strange), from Latin extraneus ("foreign, strange"), from exter ("outer").

The word 'strange' has been used in the English language since the 13th century, originally meaning 'foreign' or 'alien'. Over time, its meaning broadened to encompass anything unusual or unfamiliar.

Memory tip

Think of a strange fruit, but even stranger than that!

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"foreign, belonging to the outside"

strangest thingstrangest behaviorstrangest storiesstrangest ideasstrangest of all

Common misspellings

strangiststrangestt

Usage

40%Spoken
60%Written