peculiar
Strange or unusual.
peculiar in a sentence
- There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen, like burnt toast mixed with roses.
- A peculiar light hovered over the hill, unlike anything the campers had ever seen before.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to peculiar?
- Astrange
- Bordinary
- Cnormal
- Dusual
Show the answer
A: strange. The other three mean the opposite of peculiar.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to peculiar?
- Anormal
- Bweird
- Cstrange
- Dodd
Show the answer
A: normal. The other three mean nearly the same as peculiar.
Words that mean something similar
strange, odd, weird
Words that mean the opposite
normal, ordinary, usual
More words about appearance & looks
- preen: To tidy and admire your own appearance.
- pristine: Perfectly clean and unspoilt, like new.
- prominent: Easy to see or notice; standing out.
- quizzical: Showing that you are puzzled or curious, often in a joking way.
- rickety: Old, weak and likely to fall apart.
- rotund: Round and plump in shape.
- scowl: To make an angry, cross face by pulling your eyebrows down; or that angry face itself.
- shabby: Old, worn out and scruffy-looking.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test