top definitions
related content
examples
british

unusual

[ uhn-yoo-zhoo-uhl, -yoozh-wuhl ]

/ ʌnˈyu ʒu əl, -ˈyuʒ wəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unusual ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not usual, common, or ordinary; uncommon in amount or degree; exceptional: an unusual sound; an unusual hobby; an unusual response.

Origin of unusual

First recorded in 1575–85; un-¹ + usual

SYNONYMS FOR unusual

extraordinary, remarkable; rare, strange, singular, curious, queer, odd.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unusual ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM unusual

un·u·su·al·ly, adverb un·u·su·al·ness, noun

Words nearby unusual

ununseptium, ununtrium, unununium, unusable, unused, unusual, unusuality, unutterable, unvaccinated, unvalued, unvarnished

Example sentences from the Web for unusual

Each individual race involves an unusual collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and public-health entities.

The Race for the Ebola Vaccine |Abby Haglage |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
So, in an unusual order (PDF) issued on New Years Day, District Judge Robert Hinkle clarified the issue.

The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over |Jay Michaelson |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The weather on the route of AirAsia Flight 8501 was not unusual for the region and the season.

Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501? |Clive Irving |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It is an unusual kind of patriotism in the name of national security.

Why Did We Panic After 9/11 and Ignore All We Knew About Responding to Security Threats? |Deborah Pearlstein |December 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The unusual textures (santouri, ney, lyra, clarinets, voices) impart a mystical quality to this work.

The Best Albums of 2014 |Ted Gioia |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Hence the complete picture they give of life is of necessity fallacious: they can only represent what is unusual.

A Chesterton Calendar |G. K. Chesterton
Such words as these, from an employ, were unusual to say the least.

The Iron Boys in the Steel Mills |James R. Mears
She was a lady highly educated for that day, and possessed of a mind of unusual power.

Home Life of Great Authors |Hattie Tyng Griswold
The situation was most unusual and in some ways most embarrassing, also.

Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888 |Frances M.A. Roe
This was occasioned by the muzzles being pointed downwards into the ditch, which gave the report an unusual and appalling effect.

Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade |William Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for unusual

unusual

/ (ʌnˈjuːʒʊəl) /

adjective

out of the ordinary; uncommon; extraordinary an unusual design

Derived forms of unusual

unusually, adverb unusualness, noun