Meaning & use
peculiarity
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Meanings
nouncountable
A feature or habit that is strange or unusual, often one that sets a person or thing apart.
Grammar: Usually followed by of or in: a peculiarity of his speech.
Patterns
- a peculiarity of something
- a peculiarity in something
One peculiarity of my uncle is that he eats dessert first.
The peculiarity of this clock is that it runs backward.
Every language has peculiarities that confuse learners.
noununcountableformal
The quality of being odd or distinctive.
Grammar: Used without an or plural: the peculiarity of the situation struck everyone.
Patterns
- the peculiarity of something
The peculiarity of the weather this spring worried the farmers.
She smiled at the peculiarity of being paid to sleep.
Nobody mentioned the peculiarity of his request.
Word forms
| plural | peculiarities |
|---|
Common combinations
- a strange peculiarity
- The house has a strange peculiarity: no two doors are the same size.
- personal peculiarities
- We got used to each other's personal peculiarities.
- a peculiarity of
- Silent letters are a peculiarity of English spelling.
- regional peculiarities
- The cookbook explains regional peculiarities in the recipes.
- notice a peculiarity
- Did you notice a peculiarity in her handwriting?
Synonyms and how they differ
- quirk
- A quirk is usually a small, charming oddity, while peculiarity can sound more neutral or formal.
- idiosyncrasy
- Idiosyncrasy is more technical and stresses that the trait is individual to one person or thing.
- oddity
- Oddity can mean a strange person or object as a whole, not just one feature.
- eccentricity
- Eccentricity describes unconventional behavior, mostly of people, and often suggests something more striking.
Opposites
Word family
- peculiar adjective
- strange, or belonging especially to one thing
- peculiarly adverb
- in an odd way, or especially
- peculiarities noun
- plural of peculiarity
Commonly confused: peculiarity or particularity?
peculiarity vs particularity
Particularity means attention to detail or being specific; it does not suggest strangeness.
Practice
A ___ of the old cottage is that its front door opens onto a steep drop.
Choose one answer.
Peculiarity means an odd feature. Popularity, regularity and similarity would not describe a strange door that opens onto a drop.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peculiarity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.