Meaning & use
peculiar
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Strange or unusual, especially in a way that is slightly puzzling or unexpected.
Grammar: Compares with more/most: a rather peculiar habit.
Patterns
- peculiar smell/taste
- peculiar habit
- rather peculiar
There's a peculiar smell coming from the engine.
He has a peculiar way of stirring his coffee before every sip.
That's a peculiar choice for a wedding gift.
adjectivenot comparable
Belonging only to a particular person, place, group, or thing; unique to it.
Grammar: Always followed by to after the noun or after be: customs peculiar to this region, never peculiar of.
Patterns
- peculiar to something
- peculiar to someone
- problem peculiar to something
This flower is peculiar to the island and grows nowhere else.
Customs peculiar to the region fascinated the visitors.
Overcrowding is a problem peculiar to big cities.
adjectiveafter a verbBritishinformal
Feeling slightly ill, dizzy, or faint, especially for no clear reason.
Grammar: Only after feel or seem: I feel peculiar, not a peculiar person (that means a strange person).
Patterns
- feel peculiar
- seem peculiar
- a bit peculiar
I'm feeling a bit peculiar; I think I'll lie down.
The medicine made me feel peculiar for an hour or so.
Word forms
| comparative | more peculiar |
|---|---|
| superlative | most peculiar |
Common combinations
- peculiar to
- This dialect is peculiar to the coastal villages.
- peculiar smell/taste
- There's a peculiar taste in this tap water.
- rather peculiar
- He gave me a rather peculiar look and walked away.
- peculiar habit
- She has the peculiar habit of sorting books by color.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strange
- Strange is the most general word for unusual; peculiar often adds a personal, slightly uneasy reaction.
- odd
- Odd is informal and lighter than peculiar.
- eccentric
- Eccentric describes people with unusual but usually harmless and sometimes charming habits.
- curious
- Curious meaning strange is old-fashioned or literary; prefer strange in everyday speech.
Opposites
Word family
- peculiarity noun
- An odd or distinctive feature of something.
- peculiarly adverb
- In a strange way; also means especially or uniquely: peculiarly British.
Commonly confused: peculiar or particular?
peculiar vs particular
Particular means specific or special, while peculiar means strange; the words sound similar but rarely mean the same.
Practice
This traditional dance is ______ to the mountain communities of the region.
Choose one answer.
Peculiar to means unique or belonging only to a place or group, which fits a regional tradition. Strange, odd, and weird all mean unusual but cannot be followed by to in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peculiar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.