weird

1 of 2

adjective

1
: of strange or extraordinary character : odd, fantastic
2
: of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural : magical
weirdness noun

weird

2 of 2

noun

1
: fate, destiny
especially : ill fortune
2

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Shakespeare's Connection to Weird

You may know weird as a generalized term describing something unusual, but this word also has older meanings that are more specific. Weird derives from the Old English noun wyrd, essentially meaning "fate." By the 8th century, the plural wyrde had begun to appear in texts as a gloss for Parcae, the Latin name for the Fates—three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Scots authors employed werd or weird in the phrase "weird sisters" to refer to the Fates. William Shakespeare adopted this usage in Macbeth, in which the "weird sisters" are depicted as three witches. Subsequent adjectival use of weird grew out of a reinterpretation of the weird used by Shakespeare.

Choose the Right Synonym for weird

weird, eerie, uncanny mean mysteriously strange or fantastic.

weird may imply an unearthly or supernatural strangeness or it may stress peculiarity or oddness.

weird creatures from another world

eerie suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that mysterious and malign powers are at work.

an eerie calm preceded the bombing raid

uncanny implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness.

an uncanny resemblance between total strangers

Examples of weird in a Sentence

Adjective Cosmic strings are second only to black holes in the astrophysicist's pantheon of weird objects. They are narrow, ultradense filaments formed during a phase transition—called inflation—within the first microsecond of cosmic history. Steve Nadis, Astronomy, October 2005
If you looked at them closely you realized they were carved with weird, pagan creatures, more like hobgoblins than men, half hidden among trees and leaves—here acanthus and there what looked like a palm tree. Kate Atkinson, Case Histories, 2004
As an extended fictional device allegory is used mainly in didactic, satirical fables, such as Gulliver's Travels, Animal Farm and Erewhon. In these masterpieces a surface realism of presentation gives the fantastic events a kind of weird plausibility … David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992
My little brother acts weird sometimes. I heard a weird noise. That's weird—I put my book down right here just a few minutes ago and now it's gone.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
There is always something so funny and weird about producers who no one knows getting the last word at the show. Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Musicians are kind of weirder and a little more idiosyncratic. Jake Silverstein Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The kids are creative, smart, energetic, quirky, weird, nerdy and filled with exhausting enthusiasm. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 These books range from the literary to the historical to the plain weird. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre’s rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention. Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 8 Mar. 2024 Considering that Conan O’Brien made a name for himself by subverting TV comedy tropes in the ‘90s, people were ready for something weird when the comedian kicked off the eighth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre on Thursday (March 7). Joe Lynch, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 The weird thing is that Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures both own shares in OpenAI—Khosla invested at seed, and a16z has bought shares of OpenAI on the secondary market. Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024 Those who make it to the path will experience darkness in the day for a few minutes and plunging temperatures, weird light, and strange animal behavior. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'weird.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from construal as an adjective of weird entry 2 in weird sisters, name for the Fates of Greek and Roman myth (early Scots werd sisteris, Middle English wyrde systeres, Shakespeare weyard/weyward sisters, applied to the witches in Macbeth)

Noun

Middle English wird, werd, going back to Old English wyrd, going back to Germanic *wurdi- "fate, chance" (whence Old Saxon wurđ "fate," Old High German wurt, Old Norse urðr), derivative from the base of *werþan- "to come about, happen, become" — more at worth entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of weird was before the 12th century

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Dictionary Entries Near weird

Cite this Entry

“Weird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weird. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

weird

adjective
ˈwi(ə)rd
1
: of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or magic
2
: very unusual or strange : fantastic
weirdly adverb
weirdness noun
Etymology

Adjective

Old English wyrd (noun) "fate"

Word Origin
The belief in some form of fate, a force that cannot be explained, predicted, or controlled, has been a part of many cultures. When people understood very little of the laws of nature, such a belief may have helped to make it easier to live with life's misfortunes even if it did not make life any more comfortable. The Old English word for "fate" was wyrd. When the English began translating Latin works, they used this word for the Roman Fates, goddesses who were believed to control the events in human lives. When the Fates were described as "weird sisters," the first use of weird as an adjective occurred. People practicing witchcraft were thought to be controlling the wyrd, and in time the Modern English word weird came to refer to things that seemed to happen by magic or that were strange, unusual, or mysterious.

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