eccentric

1 of 2

adjective

ec·​cen·​tric ik-ˈsen-trik How to pronounce eccentric (audio)
ek-
1
a
: deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways
an eccentric millionaire
b
: deviating from an established or usual pattern or style
eccentric products
2
a
: deviating from a circular path
especially : elliptical sense 1
an eccentric orbit
b
: located elsewhere than at the geometric center
also : having the axis or support so located
an eccentric wheel
eccentrically adverb

eccentric

2 of 2

noun

1
: a person who behaves in odd or unusual ways : an eccentric person
2
: a mechanical device consisting of an eccentric (see eccentric entry 1 sense 2b) disk communicating its motion to a rod so as to produce reciprocating motion

Did you know?

Eccentric was originally a technical term at home in the fields of geometry and astronomy. It comes from a Latin word meaning “not having the earth at its center,” and ultimately has its root in a Greek word with various meanings including “stationary point of a pair of compasses” and “midpoint of a circle or sphere.” But its figurative use is long-established too: as far back as the 17th century the word was used to describe people and things that deviate from what is conventional, usual, or accepted.

Choose the Right Synonym for eccentric

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 eccentric in a Sentence

Adjective It was Charles Darwin's eccentric mathematician cousin Francis Galton who in 1874 ignited the nature-nurture controversy.  … Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003
Eccentric drifters that normally roam the farthest reaches of the solar system, these daredevils fly so close to the Sun that they pass through its scorching corona. Maggie McKee, Astronomy, December 2002
In the spit-and-polish Navy, he and his equally unkempt colleagues were regarded as eccentric. David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999
He was a kind but eccentric man. She's become more eccentric over the years. Noun It wasn't until she [Mother Teresa] had set up a leprosarium outside Calcutta on land provided by the government that I began to see her as an idealist rather than an eccentric. Bharati Mukherjee, Time, 14 June 1999
To his own townspeople Thoreau was a radical and an eccentric, a man without a vocation, supporting himself doing odd jobs, devoting himself to what seemed to them inconsequential rambles, and living like a hermit on the shores of Walden Pond. Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987
But Mozart was also an eccentric, brought up not as a creature of society but as a prodigious child speaking a language of sound. Mozart couldn't "handle people," as one former friend put it. Edward Rothstein, New York Times Book Review, 31 Oct. 1982
an eccentric who designed his house to look like a Scottish castle
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
In Yorgos Lanthimos’ costume drama, Stone plays a woman who goes on a journey of self-discovery after being brought back to life by an eccentric surgeon. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The honor followed on the heels of her BAFTA win for Yorgos Lanthimos’ puckish spin on the costume drama, in which Stone plays a woman who finds liberation and self-actualization after being brought back to life by an eccentric surgeon. Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The children discover a magical tree and its eccentric residents. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Keen is described by former employees as a driven but eccentric businessman who is prone to micromanagement and sudden shifts in mood. William Turton, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024 Alejandro is in charge of looking after the freezer containing Bobby (played by RZA), a painter and the husband of Elizabeth who is a walking id of the abusive art-world eccentric and nightmare boss. Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024 Again, there is nothing theologically eccentric about any of this. James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 If, as her stylist suggests, Poor Things, with its exquisite high-fashion nods and wildly eccentric narrative, got under Stone’s skin, every intelligent and idiosyncratic Louis Vuitton collection press release must pique the same kind of interest. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 18 Feb. 2024 The film’s perfunctory storyline is less notable than its plethora of eccentric plot elements, such as Chief persuading Southpaw and Spooky, the latter wearing whiteface, to rob a bank disguised as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
Jake Gyllenhaal is the type of movie star who tends toward two speeds: leading man with haunted look and solid jaw, and wonderfully self-conscious eccentric. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024 When a babysitter is dismembered and arranged on a suburban lawn, Garlin's Detective Handsome leaps into action, questioning eccentrics and generally not making a lot of progress. Danny Horn, EW.com, 4 Jan. 2024 Their leader, our hero, was a brilliant eccentric who wore cat T-shirts and went by the online moniker Roaring Kitty. Lauren Schuker Blum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 Over Ced’s next-wave production, lead-Ultra MC Keith Thornton, aka Kool Keith, set the bar for rap quirk and eccentrics, before proceeding to raise it to galactic heights as a solo artist. Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 17 Nov. 2023 The drag queens, the outcasts, the eccentrics were all there. Alyssa Hardy, refinery29.com, 6 Nov. 2023 Today, multitudes of creatives, eccentrics, and seekers of beauty and/or desert solitude gravitate to Santa Fe, in a tradition stretching back to the early 20th century, when Los Cinco Pintores—the five painters—became the first group of artists to migrate to Sante Fe and set up an artists’ colony. Alexandra Malmed, Vogue, 8 Nov. 2023 And home to more Nobel laureates and billionaires and sheer geniuses — and any number of eccentrics, which may be a substantial overlap — in any kind of undertaking than any other state. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2023 Elsewhere, everything in between: artists, eccentrics, families. Jonathan Lethem, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eccentric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Medieval Latin ecentricus, excentricus "not concentric with another circle, (of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center," from Late Latin eccentros, eccentrus "not having the earth at its center" (borrowed from Greek ékkentros, from ek- ec- + -kentros, adjective derivative of kéntron "sting, goad, point, stationary point of a pair of compasses, midpoint of a circle or sphere") + Latin -icus -ic entry 1 — more at center entry 1

Noun

Middle English excentryke "planetary orbit of which the earth is not the center," borrowed from Medieval Latin excentricus, noun derivative of ecentricus, excentricus "(of a planetary orbit in Ptolemaic astronomy) not having the earth exactly at its center" — more at eccentric entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Noun

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of eccentric was circa 1630

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Dictionary Entries Near eccentric

Cite this Entry

“Eccentric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eccentric. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

eccentric

1 of 2 adjective
ec·​cen·​tric ik-ˈsen-trik How to pronounce eccentric (audio)
ek-
1
a
: acting or thinking in an unusual way
b
: not of the usual or normal kind
2
: not following a truly circular path
an eccentric orbit
eccentrically adverb

eccentric

2 of 2 noun
: a strange or eccentric person

Medical Definition

eccentric

1 of 2 adjective
ec·​cen·​tric ik-ˈsen-trik, ek- How to pronounce eccentric (audio)
: deviating from an established pattern or from accepted usage or conduct
eccentrically adverb

eccentric

2 of 2 noun
: an eccentric individual

More from Merriam-Webster on eccentric

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