Meaning & use
bizarre behaviour
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Meanings
noununcountable
Actions that are very strange and hard to understand or explain.
Grammar: Uncountable, so no plural: say 'such bizarre behaviour', not 'a bizarre behaviour'.
Patterns
- bizarre behaviour toward someone
- exhibit bizarre behaviour
- consider something bizarre behaviour
The teacher was worried by the student's bizarre behaviour in class.
After the accident, he showed bizarre behaviour, like talking to himself.
The report described the politician's bizarre behaviour at the meeting.
noununcountabletechnicalmedical
In psychology and medicine, actions that are odd and unusual, often as a sign of a mental or physical condition.
Grammar: Used in technical contexts; still uncountable.
Patterns
- show bizarre behaviour
- bizarre behaviour patterns
- associated with bizarre behaviour
The patient's bizarre behaviour improved after treatment.
Doctors noted bizarre behaviour as an early symptom.
The study linked the drug to bizarre behaviour in some patients.
Common combinations
- exhibit bizarre behaviour
- The animal began to exhibit bizarre behaviour after the storm.
- increasingly bizarre behaviour
- His increasingly bizarre behaviour worried his friends.
- bizarre behaviour pattern
- The psychologist identified a bizarre behaviour pattern.
- describe something as bizarre behaviour
- The witness described the man's actions as bizarre behaviour.
Synonyms and how they differ
- odd behaviour
- Less strong than 'bizarre behaviour'; 'odd' suggests slightly strange, while 'bizarre' suggests very strange and shocking.
- strange behaviour
- More general and less formal; can describe anything unusual, whereas 'bizarre' implies it is hard to explain.
- eccentric behaviour
- Often used for people who are intentionally unusual but not necessarily ill; 'bizarre' is more negative and serious.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bizarre behaviour or behavior?
bizarre behaviour vs behavior
American spelling; 'behaviour' is British. Both mean the same.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bizarre behaviour' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bizarre behaviour' is uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural form. Option B is correct; An and C are wrong because they treat it as countable, and D is wrong because 'the' is not used in this general sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bizarre behaviour”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.