Meaning & use
eccentricity
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
An unusual or peculiar habit or way of behaving that makes someone seem different from others.
Grammar: Countable when referring to a specific habit ('an eccentricity'), uncountable when referring to the quality ('a touch of eccentricity').
Patterns
- an eccentricity of someone
- have eccentricities
- a touch of eccentricity
One of his eccentricities was wearing a different hat every day.
Her eccentricity made her a beloved figure in the small town.
The old professor was known for his harmless eccentricities.
nouncountable or uncountablemathematicstechnical
In mathematics, a number that shows how much a conic section, such as an ellipse, is stretched away from a circle.
Grammar: Usually countable ('an eccentricity of 0.5'); uncountable when referring to the property.
Patterns
- eccentricity of an ellipse
- calculate the eccentricity
- high eccentricity
The eccentricity of a circle is zero.
A comet's orbit can have a very high eccentricity.
Students learned to calculate the eccentricity of an ellipse from its axes.
Word forms
| plural | eccentricities |
|---|
Common combinations
- a touch of eccentricity
- The artist's work is full of a touch of eccentricity.
- known for eccentricity
- The writer was known for his eccentricity and love of cats.
- eccentricity of an orbit
- The eccentricity of the orbit determines how elliptical it is.
- harmless eccentricity
- His harmless eccentricity amused his neighbors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quirk
- A quirk is a small, often amusing peculiarity; eccentricity often suggests a more noticeable or unconventional trait that sets someone apart.
- oddity
- Oddity emphasizes strangeness and can be used for things as well as people; eccentricity is more about a person's character or behavior.
- peculiarity
- Peculiarity is a neutral word for any distinctive feature; eccentricity often implies a deliberate or striking deviation from what is normal.
Opposites
Word family
- eccentric adjective
- Behaving in a strange or unusual way.
- eccentrically adverb
- In a strange or unusual manner.
Commonly confused: eccentricity or eccentric?
eccentricity vs eccentric
Eccentric is an adjective meaning 'unusual or strange'; eccentricity is the noun for the quality or a specific habit.
Practice
The mathematician calculated the ______ of the ellipse to determine its shape.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a noun to follow 'the' and be the object of 'calculated'. 'Eccentricity' is the correct noun. 'Eccentric' is an adjective, 'eccentrically' is an adverb, and 'eccentricities' is plural and would not fit the singular context of a mathematical value.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eccentricity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.