FREAKISH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does freakish mean? 

• FREAKISH (adjective)
  The adjective FREAKISH has 3 senses:

1. changeable

2. characteristic of a freak

3. conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

  Familiarity information: FREAKISH used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FREAKISH (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Changeable

Synonyms:

capricious; freakish

Context example:

freakish weather

Similar:

unpredictable (not capable of being foretold)

Derivation:

freakishness (marked strangeness as a consequence of being abnormal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Characteristic of a freak

Context example:

a freakish extra toe

Similar:

abnormal; unnatural (not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm)

Derivation:

freakishness (marked strangeness as a consequence of being abnormal)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

Synonyms:

bizarre; eccentric; flakey; flaky; freakish; freaky; gonzo; off-the-wall; outlandish; outre

Context example:

outre and affected stage antics

Similar:

unconventional (not conventional or conformist)

Derivation:

freakishness (marked strangeness as a consequence of being abnormal)

 Context examples 

Ah, yes, that’s another matter—a mere trifle, but the sort of thing you take an interest in—queer, you know, and what you might call freakish.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Amy felt anxious, as well she might, for when Jo turned freakish there was no knowing where she would stop.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

"But," I cried, surely the whole experience of the human race is not to be set aside on account of a single sketch—I had turned over the leaves and ascertained that there was nothing more in the book—a single sketch by a wandering American artist who may have done it under hashish, or in the delirium of fever, or simply in order to gratify a freakish imagination.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The knight agreed to try, and got on slowly but surely, for the colt was a gallant fellow, and soon learned to love his new master, though he was freakish and wild.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)