Unusual — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

not usual or common or ordinary

being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʌnjˈuːʒuːəl/

🇬🇧British English

/ʌnjˈuːʒuːəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʌnjˈuːʒuːəl/

3 syllables Say it as /ʌnjˈuːʒuːəl/.

Examples

a scene of unusual beauty
a man of unusual ability
cruel and unusual punishment

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

strange

Antonyms

familiar usual

Parts of Speech

adjective	not usual or common or ordinary “a scene of unusual beauty”
adjective	being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird “a strange exaltation that was indefinable”
adjective	not commonly encountered “two-career families are no longer unusual”

Word Forms

unusualness	noun	uncommonness by virtue of being unusual
strangeness	noun	unusualness as a consequence of not being well known

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

ungewöhnlich

nicht üblich oder üblich oder gewöhnlich

🇫🇷French

inhabituel

pas habituel ou commun ou ordinaire

🇪🇸Spanish

inusual

no habitual ni común ni ordinario

🇮🇹Italian

insolito

non usuale, comune o ordinario

🇳🇱Dutch

ongebruikelijk

niet gebruikelijk of gebruikelijk of gewoon

🇵🇹Portuguese

incomum

não é habitual ou comum ou comum

🇷🇺Russian

необычный

не обычный или обычный или обычный

India

🇮🇳Hindi

असामान्य

सामान्य या सामान्य या साधारण नहीं

🇧🇩Bengali

অস্বাভাবিক

সাধারণ বা সাধারণ বা সাধারণ নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

அசாதாரணமானது

வழக்கமான அல்லது பொதுவான அல்லது சாதாரணமானது அல்ல

🇮🇳Telugu

అసాధారణమైన

సాధారణ లేదా సాధారణ లేదా సాధారణ కాదు

🇮🇳Marathi

असामान्य

सामान्य किंवा सामान्य किंवा सामान्य नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

અસામાન્ય

સામાન્ય અથવા સામાન્ય અથવા સામાન્ય નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ

ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അസാധാരണമായ

സാധാരണ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ സാധാരണ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ സാധാരണ അല്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸਧਾਰਨ

ਆਮ ਜਾਂ ਆਮ ਜਾਂ ਆਮ ਨਹੀਂ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر معمولی

عام یا عام یا عام نہیں

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

异常

不常见或常见或普通

🇯🇵Japanese

普通でない

普通ではない、普通ではない、普通ではない

🇰🇷Korean

특이한

평범하지도 평범하지도 평범하지도 않은

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bất thường

không bình thường hoặc phổ biến hoặc bình thường

🇹🇭Thai

ผิดปกติ

ไม่ปกติหรือธรรมดาหรือธรรมดา

🇮🇩Indonesian

tidak biasa

tidak biasa atau umum atau biasa

🇵🇭Filipino

hindi pangkaraniwan

hindi karaniwan o karaniwan o karaniwan

🇲🇾Malay

luar biasa

bukan biasa atau biasa atau biasa

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غير عادي

ليس عاديا أو شائعا أو عاديا

🇮🇷Persian

غیر معمول

معمولی یا معمولی یا معمولی نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

olağan dışı

olağan ya da sıradan ya da sıradan değil

🇮🇱Hebrew

יוֹצֵא דוֹפֶן

לא רגיל או נפוץ או רגיל

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'unusual'?

The primary meaning of 'unusual' is 'not usual or common or ordinary'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'unusual' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'unusual' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'unusual' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'unusual' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'unusual' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'unusual' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'unusual' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'unusual' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'unusual' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'unusual' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted