bizarre

Borrowed from French bizarre (“odd, peculiar, bizarre”, formerly “headlong, angry”). Either from Basque bizar (“a beard”) (the notion being that bearded Spanish soldiers made a strange impression on the French), or from Italian bizzarro.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈzɑː(ɹ)/, /bəˈzɑː(ɹ)/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bɪˈzɑɹ/, /bəˈzɑɹ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Homophone: bazaar (weak vowel merger)

bizarre (comparative more bizarre or bizarrer, superlative most bizarre or bizarrest)

1. Strangely unconventional; highly unusual and different from common experience, often in an extravagant, fantastic, and/or conspicuous way.
   • 2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎:

     West Brom enjoyed more possession as the half progressed and were handed a penalty of their own in the 21st minute in bizarre circumstances.

   • 2019 September 6, Jordan Weissman, “How Not to Fight Anti-Semitism”, in Slate‎:

     Unfortunately, she has used the attack as a launch pad for a bizarre and undercooked exercise in rhetorical bothsidesism, in which she argues that American Jews should be just as worried about college students who overzealously criticize Israel as they are about the aspiring Einsatzgruppen who shoot up shuls.

• The comparative and superlative forms with more and most are predominant. The alternative superlative bizarrest is fairly common, whereas the comparative bizarrer is very rare.

• See also Thesaurus:strange

• bizarre in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• bizarre in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

• Brazier, brazier

bizarre

1. definite of bizar
2. plural of bizar

• Audio

  (file)

bizarre

1. Inflected form of bizar

From Italian bizzarro.

• IPA^(key): /bi.zaʁ/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʁ

bizarre (plural bizarres)

1. bizarre, odd, strange, funny

   Je me sens bizarre.

   I feel strange.

   J'ai une impression bizarre de te connaître.

   I have a funny feeling I know you.

2. peculiar, quaint

• Bizarre can mean "bizarre" but it is also used for strange situations that are less extreme than would be connoted by "bizarre" in English.

• baroque
• étrange
• original
• singulier

• bizarrement
• bizarrerie

• “bizarre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• barriez

• Audio

  (file)

bizarre

1. inflection of bizarr:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

bizarre (comparative plus bizarre, superlative le plus bizarre)

1. bizarre