outlandish

adjective

out·land·ish ˌau̇t-ˈlan-dish

Synonyms of outlandish next

: of or relating to another country : foreign

saw many outlandish animals at the zoo

: strikingly out of the ordinary : bizarre

an outlandish costume

Her book is filled with outlandish characters.

spun some outlandish tales

: exceeding proper or reasonable limits or standards

workers complain of outlandish hours—

Joan E. Rigdon

outlandish government specifications

: remote from civilization

no other young men foolish enough to offer to go to such an outlandish station—

Geog. Jour.

outlandishly adverb

outlandishness noun

Did you know?

For some, the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side of the fence—it may also be very, very strange. The side-eye that skeptical sorts cast toward visitors from parts yonder is embedded in the history of the ancient word outlandish. In Old English someone described as “outlandish” came from an outland, i.e., a foreign land. Within a few hundred years, outlandish had broadened in use to describe anything unfamiliar or strange. It’s now commonly applied to things—especially things people do, wear, or say—that are strikingly out of the ordinary, or even just too-too—that is, too far beyond reasonable or proper limits or standards. But lest you mistake us for equating outlandish with wrong or bad, heed the words of Tony Stark (as played by Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man) when addressing speculation that he is secretly a superhero: “That would be outlandish… and fantastic.”

Choose the Right Synonym for outlandish

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

Examples of outlandish in a Sentence

She fills her books with outlandish characters. The actress wore an outlandish dress to the awards ceremony.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The video also made the outlandish claim that Angelina Jolie received $20 million from USAID for her May 2022 visit to Lviv. —

Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025 Sure, at some point, the scale of hypotheticals all this inspires might start to feel ridiculous, and yes, some of these questions sound outlandish, but Severance does have the soul of a mystery-box show where anything can happen. —

Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2025 That’s because underneath all that outlandish exterior is a Ducati, and not just any model – an ST4. —

New Atlas, 27 Jan. 2025 Another equally outlandish idea is that a Chinese hacker has planted something into o1 or has accessed a secret backdoor. —

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for outlandish