noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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US:/ˌɛk.sɛnˈtɹɪs.ɪ.ti/
US:[ˌɛk.sənˈtɹɪs.ə.ɾi]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:EH2 K S AH0 N T R IH1 S AH0 T IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The quality of being eccentric or odd; any eccentric behaviour.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The ratio, constant for any particular conic section, of the distance of a point from the focus to its distance from the directrix.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences
Examples
For an ellipse, the eccentricity is the ratio of the distance from the center to a focus divided by the length of the semi-major axis.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The eccentricity of the conic section (usually an ellipse) defined by the orbit of a given object around a reference object (such as that of a planet around the sun).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
The farthest distance from a vertex to any other vertex.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: graph-theory, mathematics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
strange and unconventional behavior
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: unfamiliarity, strangeness
Narrower terms: oddity, oddness
6
noun
Meaning 6
a circularity that has a different center or deviates from a circular path
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: concentricity
Broader terms: circularity, disk shape
7
noun
Meaning 7
(geometry) a ratio describing the shape of a conic section; the ratio of the distance between the foci to the length of the major axis
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a circle is an ellipse with zero eccentricity
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: ratio
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin eccentricitās. By surface analysis, eccentric + -ity.
Across languages
Translations
58 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
ексцентричност
(ekscentričnost)
— the quality of being eccentric
Catalan:
excentricitat
— the quality of being eccentric
Czech:
výstřednost
— the quality of being eccentric
Danish:
excentricitet
— the quality of being eccentric
Finnish:
eksentrisyys
— the quality of being eccentric
French:
excentricité
— the quality of being eccentric
Greek:
εκκεντρικότητα
(ekkentrikótita)
— the quality of being eccentric
Hindi:
विलक्षणता
(vilakṣaṇtā)
— the quality of being eccentric
Icelandic:
sérviska
— the quality of being eccentric
Italian:
eccentricità
— the quality of being eccentric
Marathi:
विक्षिप्तपणा
(vikṣiptapṇā)
— the quality of being eccentric
Norwegian Bokmål:
eksentrisitet
— the quality of being eccentric
Norwegian Nynorsk:
eksentrisitet
— the quality of being eccentric
Polish:
ekscentryczność
— the quality of being eccentric
Portuguese:
excentricidade
— the quality of being eccentric
Romanian:
excentricitate
— the quality of being eccentric
Russian:
эксцентри́чность
(ekscentríčnostʹ)
— the quality of being eccentric
Spanish:
excentricidad
— the quality of being eccentric
Swedish:
excentricitet
— the quality of being eccentric
Unami:
kànkàmawsëwakàn
— the quality of being eccentric