- strange or unusual, especially in a way that is unpleasant or makes you worried
- a peculiar smell/taste
- The meat tasted rather peculiar.
- There was something peculiar in the way he smiled.
- I had a peculiar feeling we'd met before.
- He died in very peculiar circumstances.
- For some peculiar reason, she refused to come inside.
Extra Examples- I find her attitude a bit peculiar, to say the least.
- Her behaviour was a peculiar mixture of the sophisticated and the childlike.
- The peculiar thing was that no one mentioned her disappearance.
- They behaved in a very peculiar way.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- most
- very
- quite
- …
- peculiar (to somebody/something) belonging or relating to one particular place, situation, person, etc., and not to others
- a humour that is peculiar to American sitcoms
- a species of bird peculiar to Asia
- He has his own peculiar style which you'll soon get used to.
- the family’s peculiar importance in the affair
- the peculiar properties of mercury
Extra Examples- These problems are by no means peculiar to this country.
- We shall concentrate on environmental features that are peculiar to the tropics.
- He waved in a way entirely peculiar to himself.
- Each house had its own peculiar smell.
- Every case presents its own peculiar problems.
- (British English, informal) slightly ill
- I don’t think I’ll eat anything—I’m feeling a bit peculiar.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- most
- very
- quite
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘particular’): from Latin peculiaris ‘of private property’, from peculium ‘property’, from pecu ‘cattle’ (cattle being private property). The sense ‘strange’ dates from the early 17th cent.
Idioms
See peculiar in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee peculiar in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishfunny peculiar (British English)
(US English funny weird/strange)
- (informal) used to show that ‘funny’ is being used with the meaning of ‘strange’
Check pronunciation:
peculiar