【Strange】 , 【singular】 , 【unique】 , 【peculiar】 , 【eccentric】 , 【erratic】 , 【odd】 , 【queer】 , 【quaint】 , 【outlandish】 , 【curious】 can mean varying from what is ordinary, usual, and to be expected.
【Strange】 , the most comprehensive of these terms, suggests unfamiliarity; it may apply to what is foreign, unnatural, inexplicable, or new.
【Singular】 distinctively implies difference from every other instance of its kind and therefore stresses individuality.
Often, however, the word suggests strangeness that puzzles one or piques one's curiosity.
【Unique】 implies not only singularity but the fact of being unparalleled without suggesting, as 【singular】 does, a 【strange】 or baffling character or quality.
【Peculiar】 (see also CHARACTERISTIC ) implies marked or conspicuous distinctiveness in character or quality. Often 【peculiar】 is employed where one of the succeeding terms (as 【eccentric】 or 【queer】 ) might well be used.
【Eccentric】 implies divergence from the beaten track; 【erratic】 adds to 【eccentric】 a stronger implication of caprice and unpredictability.
【Odd】 stresses a departure from the usual, the normal, or the regular; it sometimes suggests an element of the fantastic; 【queer】 even more strongly implies eccentricity and often suggests that the thing so qualified is dubious or questionable.
【Quaint】 implies pleasant or especially old-fashioned oddness; 【outlandish】 , uncouth or bizarre oddness.
【Curious】 usually implies extraordinary oddness or a singularity that invites close attention, study, or inquiry. When the word is employed as an equivalent of one or another of the foregoing words it tends to retain to a greater or less degree the notion of extraordinariness and often suggests that the thing so described merits notice or investigation.
