What does strangeness mean?
Strangeness is the quality of being strange, particularly the quality of seeming unfamiliar, mysterious, uncanny, or impossible to explain. It can describe a person, place, event, sensation, or situation. For example, a writer might emphasize the strangeness of a landscape or the strangeness of someone's behavior, suggesting that the experience is unlike anything familiar or that it provokes uneasy curiosity. The word is used in both British and American English and appears especially often in literature, psychology, philosophy, and descriptions of unusual or unsettling experiences. Compared with “weirdness,” which can sound informal, “strangeness” generally has a more reflective and serious tone. It does not necessarily imply that something is incorrect or dangerous; its central implication is departure from the ordinary, with a possible suggestion that the departure cannot be fully understood.
nounThe quality of being strange or unusual, especially in a way that seems unfamiliar, eerie, or difficult to explain.
- The quality of being unusual, unfamiliar, or difficult to explain.
- The quality of evoking wonder, eeriness, or a sense that something is beyond ordinary experience.
"The empty house had an air of strangeness that made everyone uneasy."
"She noticed the strangeness of finding the door open when she knew no one was inside."
"The novel uses the strangeness of ordinary life to unsettle its readers."
Usually used as an uncountable noun; the plural form is rare.
"The film explores the different strangenesses of life in a foreign city."
Strangeness often suggests that something feels unknowable, not merely unusual.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does strangeness come from?
“Strangeness” was formed in English by adding the suffix “-ness” to “strange.” The adjective “strange” came into Middle English through Old French “stranger,” which was ultimately derived from the Latin “extraneus,” meaning foreign or outside. The same root also underlies related English words such as “strangely” and “stranger.”
Related word forms
How strangeness is actually used
Strangeness is more common in literary, psychological, or descriptive contexts than in everyday neutral speech. It often implies that something is strange in a thought-provoking, uncanny, or unsettling way, rather than simply odd or unusual.