peculiar

peculiar adjective

Definition of peculiar (Entry 1 of 2)
1: characteristic of only one person, group, or thing : DISTINCTIVE
… a drowsy fervour of manner and tone which was quite peculiar to her.
— Thomas Hardy
2: different from the usual or normal:
a: SPECIAL, PARTICULAR
a matter of peculiar interest
b: ODD, CURIOUS
It seems peculiar that she would leave town without telling anybody.
c: ECCENTRIC, UNUSUAL
The play had a zany plot and very peculiar characters.
peculiar noun
pe·;cu·;liar | \ pi-;ky;l-y;r  \
Definition of peculiar (Entry 2 of 2)
: something exempt from ordinary jurisdiction
especially : a church or parish exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary in whose territory it lies

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Peculiar Has Latin Roots
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Adjective

peculiarly adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for peculiar
Synonyms: Adjective

aberrant, aberrated, abnormal, anomalous, atypical, especial, exceeding, exceptional, extraordinaire, extraordinary, freak, odd, phenomenal, preternatural, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted
Antonyms: Adjective

common, customary, normal, ordinary, typical, unexceptional, unextraordinary, usual
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Adjective

CHARACTERISTIC, INDIVIDUAL, PECULIAR, DISTINCTIVE mean indicating a special quality or identity. CHARACTERISTIC applies to something that distinguishes or identifies a person or thing or class.  responded with her characteristic wit  INDIVIDUAL stresses qualities that distinguish one from all other members of the same kind or class.  a highly individual writing style  PECULIAR applies to qualities possessed only by a particular individual or class or kind and stresses rarity or uniqueness.  an eccentricity that is peculiar to the British  DISTINCTIVE indicates qualities distinguishing and uncommon and often superior or praiseworthy.  a distinctive aura of grace and elegance

STRANGE, SINGULAR, UNIQUE, PECULIAR, ECCENTRIC, ERRATIC, ODD, QUAINT, OUTLANDISH mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected. STRANGE stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable.  a journey filled with strange sights  SINGULAR suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.  a singular feeling of impending disaster  UNIQUE implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.  a career unique in the annals of science  PECULIAR implies a marked distinctiveness.  the peculiar status of America's First Lady  ECCENTRIC suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.  the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers  ERRATIC stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.  a friend's suddenly erratic behavior  ODD applies to a departure from the regular or expected.  an odd sense of humor  QUAINT suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.  a quaint fishing village  OUTLANDISH applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.  outlandish fashions of the time

Peculiar Has Latin Roots
It might strike you as odd that the origins of peculiar are livestock-related, so let us explain. The word's Latin ancestor, peculiaris, means "privately owned, extraordinary"; it traces back to pecu, meaning "cattle," by way of peculium, meaning "private property"—cattle of course being a particular kind of private property. Given the monetary value historically placed in cattle, it makes sense that pecu has given us several money-related words, including pecuniary ("of or relating to money"), peculate ("to embezzle"), and impecunious ("having very little or no money"). Peculiar honed in on the "extraordinary" meaning of peculiaris, applying to what is characteristic of only one individual, group, or thing. In modern use that sense is commonly followed by the preposition to, as in "a tradition peculiar to their family." The "odd" and "eccentric" meanings of peculiar are extensions of that sense, and are now the word's most common applications.


Examples of peculiar in a Sentence
Adjective
As military coups go, this was a most peculiar one, bloodless, and in Bangkok at least quite popular.
— Ian Buruma, New York Review, 1 Mar. 2007
Right about then, Ensberg got himself back on the field, where a peculiar thing happened: he stopped thinking.
— Tom Friend, ESPN, 28 Aug. 2006
I smell again the peculiar and dynamic smell of Gillespie's science room.
— Muriel Spark, Curriculum Vitae, (1992) 1993
 It seems peculiar that he would leave town and not tell anybody.
 The dog's peculiar behavior worried them.
 She got a peculiar feeling when the phone rang.
 She had a peculiar expression on her face.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Each of the book’s dozens of characters is delineated as a simple, distinct caricature, and Beaton loves the disputes and idioms peculiar to the many kinds of people drawn to the ready money in Alberta from all corners of the English-speaking world.
— Sam Thielman, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2022
Very particular and peculiar taste, not my cup of beer.
— Marc Bona, cleveland, 4 Sep. 2022
But Ketah remembers a peculiar thing that his grandmother would do.
— Lisa Phu, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2022
The nude’s simultaneously explicit and peculiar anatomy prepares us for what is to come.
— Karen Wilkin, WSJ, 1 Oct. 2022
Some of Nesbit’s best stories possess the peculiar, faraway-so-close melancholy of being able to conjure the ghost of a loved one without being able to touch or speak to them, for fear of dissolving the apparition.
— Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2022
Cutting up a cadaver helped Weston realize the peculiar status of the surgeon, who is at once exalted and yet also belongs with those professions always viewed as unclean: sewer and slaughterhouse workers, refuse collectors and gravediggers.
— Will Self, Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022
Vaughn speculated that much of Americans’ peculiar fascination with the British monarchy stems from the queen’s fulfillment of the ideal of an apolitical leader, particularly given polling data that shows an appreciable distrust of U.S. politicians.
— Suzanne Schneider, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2022
So does a peculiar sense of satisfaction with her own creative invention, her ability to take the stuff of unspeakable tragedy and fashion it into something like art.
— Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2022
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
However one interprets that, Tyler, the Creator certainly managed to bring the peculiar and the unique to the stage while reaching out to fans old and new.
— Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2022
Former members who have turned away, in addition to followers of other faiths, don’t want to be this version of peculiar at all.
— Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 June 2022
And the company is faced with a peculiar (but not uncommon) state law that prohibits car companies from selling directly to customers, which will force the company to take a roundabout route to reach its Texan buyers.
— Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 8 Oct. 2021
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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peculiar.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Phrases Containing peculiar
peculiar to
First Known Use of peculiar
Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1562, in the meaning defined above


History and Etymology for peculiar
Adjective and Noun

Middle English peculier, from Latin peculiaris of private property, special, from peculium private property, from pecu cattle; akin to Latin pecus cattle — more at FEE