Standard Lemma guide

idiosyncratic

adj · 2 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪd.i.əʊ.sɪŋˈkɹæt.ɪk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-ˌsɪŋ-/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌɪd.i.oʊ.sɪŋˈkɹæt.ɪk/
  • Canada, General-American: [ˌɪd.i.oʊ.sɪŋˈkɹæɾ.ɪk]
  • Canada, General-American: /-ˌsɪŋ-/
  • Texas: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˌɪd.i.əʉ.sɪŋˈkɹæt.ɪk/
  • Australian: [ˌɪd.i.əʉ.sɪŋˈkɹæɾ.ɪk]
  • Australian: /-ˌsɪŋ-/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌəd.i.ɐʉ.səŋˈkɹɛt.ək/
  • New-Zealand: [ˌəd.i.ɐʉ.səŋˈkɹɛɾ.ək]
  • New-Zealand: /-ˌsəŋ-/
  • rhymes with -ætɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 D IY0 OW0 S IH2 N K R AE1 T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Peculiar to a specific individual; eccentric.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

peculiar to the individual

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • we all have our own idiosyncratic gestures
  • Michelangelo's highly idiosyncratic style of painting

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From idiosyncrasy + -ic. By surface analysis, idio- + syn- + -cratic.

Across languages

Translations

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: իդիոսինկրատիկ (idiosinkratik) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Catalan: idiosincràtic — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Chinese Mandarin: 獨特的 /独特的 (dútè de) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Chinese Mandarin: 特異的 /特异的 (tèyì de) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Czech: osobitý — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Czech: specifický — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Czech: výstřední — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Czech: charakteristický — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Dutch: eigenzinnig — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Dutch: eigenaardig — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Dutch: idiosyncratisch — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Dutch: karakteristiek — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Estonian: idiosünkraatiline — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Estonian: isikuomane — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Finnish: omaperäinen — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Finnish: omalaatuinen — peculiar to a specific individual
  • French: singulier — peculiar to a specific individual
  • French: particulier — peculiar to a specific individual
  • French: idiosyncratique — peculiar to a specific individual
  • French: idiosyncrasique — peculiar to a specific individual
  • German: eigenartig — peculiar to a specific individual
  • German: eigentümlich — peculiar to a specific individual
  • German: spezifisch — peculiar to a specific individual
  • German: idiosynkratisch — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Hungarian: sajátos — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Italian: idiosincrasico — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Italian: idiosincratico — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Kazakh: ерекше (erekşe) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Norwegian Bokmål: idiosynkratisk — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Polish: specyficzny — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Portuguese: idiossincrásico — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Portuguese: idiossincrático — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Romanian: idiosincratic — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Romanian: idiosincrazic — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Russian: персона́льный (personálʹnyj) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Russian: своеобразный (svojeobraznyj) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Russian: уникальный (unikalʹnyj) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Russian: характерный (xarakternyj) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Russian: отличительный (otličitelʹnyj) — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Scottish Gaelic: sònraichte — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Serbo-Croatian: idiosinkratičan — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Serbo-Croatian: specifičan — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Serbo-Croatian: karakterističan — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Spanish: idiosincrásico — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Spanish: idiosincrático — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Swedish: idiosynkratisk — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Swedish: säregen — peculiar to a specific individual
  • Swedish: egenartad — peculiar to a specific individual
Real reading context

idiosyncratic in complete knowledge articles