: exceeding proper or reasonable limits or standards
workers complain of outlandish hours Joan E. Rigdon
outlandish government specifications
3
: remote from civilization
no other young men foolish enough to offer to go to such an outlandish stationGeog. Jour.
outlandishlyadverb
outlandishnessnoun
Did you know?
In olden times, English speakers used the phrase "outlandish man" to refer to a foreigner—or, one who came from an outland, which originally meant "a foreign land." From here, outlandish broadened in usage from a word meaning "from another land" to one describing something unfamiliar or strange. Dress was a common early target for the adjective; English novelist Henry Fielding, in Tom Jones (1749), writes of a woman who was "drest in one of your outlandish Garments." Nowadays, the word can be applied to anything that strikes us as out of the ordinary, from bizarre conspiracy theories to exaggerated boasting.
eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.
the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers
erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.
a friend's suddenly erratic behavior
odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.
an odd sense of humor
quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.
a quaint fishing village
outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.
outlandish fashions of the time
Example Sentences
She fills her books with outlandish characters. The actress wore an outlandish dress to the awards ceremony.
Recent Examples on the WebThe idea was outlandish, but they were used to that. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 As Bloom eventually conceded after a few hundred comments poured in, a door-knocking strategy may be a bit outlandish. Jane Thier, Fortune, 8 June 2022 During their time together, Slim shared stories from his life and several toasts — a wildly outlandish, funny, ribald form of narrative Black folk poetry — with Jackson. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2022 The right solution shouldn’t be outlandish and expensive. Mark Krupnik, Forbes, 19 July 2022 Eastman has served in the state House since 2017, cultivating a reputation for outlandish, offensive and divisive statements that have alienated him from some fellow Republicans in the House. Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News, 11 June 2022 Like the emirate, the new Housewives are outlandish, cosmopolitan and obsessed with appearances. Lorraine Alitelevision Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022 But to blow up your own citizens seemed too outlandish, too impossible, too horrible to even contemplate. Jill Dougherty, CNN, 2 June 2022 Betty’s stories evolved from exciting, outlandish and dangerous to domestic and demure. Emily Wishingrad, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of outlandish was before the 12th century