oddball 1 of 2

noun

ˈäd-ˌbȯl How to pronounce oddball (audio)
Definition of oddballnext
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits she's known as the office oddball

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

oddball

2 of 2

adjective

as in bizarre

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oddball
Noun
Germany’s leading indie fest has long made a specialty of outsiders and oddballs — artists who arrived without pedigree, training programs or an obvious industry slot and built the career anyway. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026 Link shifts from a charming oddball as Whatsit to a sinister figure on the planet of Camazotz. — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026
Adjective
Henry Winkler plays the oddball mayor, Lena Headey the town barkeep. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Running through Saturday, the 4th of July Tuna High School Class reunion takes over the third-tiniest town in Texas, bringing oddball humor and small-town satire into the spotlight. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for oddball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oddball
  1. eccentric
  2. bizarre
  3. character
  4. unusual
  5. original
  6. kooky
Noun
  • Step inside, though, and you’re transported to a bucolic Britain of rolling hills and village greens, bumbling eccentrics and cute, clever farm animals.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The professionalization worked, but at the expense of the site’s internal culture, Cooke argues, as generous eccentrics were displaced by neurotic lovers of rules.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of eccentric
Adjective
  • The cookie shops have a rotating menu of cookies with elaborate toppings, sometimes offering bizarre flavors such as everything bagel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Skerritt co-starred opposite Kathy Baker, playing his doctor wife in the community of Rome, Wisconsin, a place with bizarre happenings, like having a robber leaving a trail of frogs or the pope becoming the primary witness to a murder.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of bizarre
Noun
  • The Johnson County pastor and the former rural doctor traded condemnations, repeatedly turning policy questions into opportunities to cast doubt on each other’s character and fitness for office.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Stretch fabrics have sleek constructions without the bulky appearance of conventional stretch denim, and mechanical stretch fabrics offer big, open twills and rigid character.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of character
Adjective
  • And now Great Question will, hopefully CBS News thinks, bring that voice to new places, in a digital expansion that is unusual for an evening news anchor.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But the book walks the reader through Raichlen’s unusual path to becoming a food writer obsessed with the art of barbecuing.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of unusual
Noun
  • For Netflix, the pact is part of a wider effort to supplement its originals with more licensed programming from outside producers.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
  • From demolition to a bigger mission The church now plans to build a sanctuary twice the size of the original, with room to expand its community outreach.
    — Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of original
Adjective
  • The 23 bedrooms are in the kooky main building and two shepherd’s huts (some have claw-foot baths).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
  • While Boyle’s Bankman-Fried seems a little more grounded than his real-life counterpart, Garner’s high-wire swing as Ellison is mesmerizing — her kookiest turn yet in a career of big swings.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of kooky

Browse Nearby Words

odd
oddball
oddballs
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Cite this Entry

“Oddball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oddball. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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