Library / English Dictionary

ODDITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting

Synonyms:

curio; curiosity; oddity; oddment; peculiarity; rarity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("oddity" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oddity"):

bric-a-brac; knickknack; knickknackery; nicknack; whatnot (miscellaneous curios)

collectable; collectible (things considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique))

collector's item; piece de resistance; showpiece (the outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection)

Derivation:

odd (beyond or deviating from the usual or expected)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A strange attitude or habit

Synonyms:

crotchet; oddity; queerness; quirk; quirkiness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("oddity" is a kind of...):

strangeness; unfamiliarity (unusualness as a consequence of not being well known)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Eccentricity that is not easily explained

Synonyms:

oddity; oddness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("oddity" is a kind of...):

eccentricity (strange and unconventional behavior)

Credits

 Context examples: 

But memory turned traitor, and as if possessed by the perverse spirit of the girl, would only recall Jo's oddities, faults, and freaks, would only show her in the most unsentimental aspects—beating mats with her head tied up in a bandanna, barricading herself with the sofa pillow, or throwing cold water over his passion a la Gummidge—and an irresistable laugh spoiled the pensive picture he was endeavoring to paint.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)