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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

strange/weird/odd/bizarre

Hi,

What is the difference among "strange, odd, weird and bizarre"? Do the four words all work in the sentence below?

I had a strange/an odd/a weird/a bizarre feeling that something bad would happen in the future.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Yep, they all work, and, without getting into hair-splitting, there is, for me, little difference between them here.

— Mr Wordy

  • Yep, they all work, and, without getting into hair-splitting, there is, for me, little difference between them here.
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16 Answers
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Yep, they all work, and, without getting into hair-splitting, there is, for me, little difference between them here.
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Hi Mr Wordy,
Many thanks for your answer. Could you please explain their difference here?

Thank you.
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To me, it's just a matter of fairly subtle shades of meaning. To me, "odd" is a bit less strange than "strange", and "strange" is perhaps a bit less weird than "weird". "Bizarre" rather suggests that the feeling was more inexplicable or inappropriate than the "normal" kind of odd/strange feeling.

You might get different answers from different people on this.
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It's also a matter of register, odd and weird being of the lower one.
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Hi,
Thank you both Mr Wordy and Marius very much for your answers.
I don't understand what this means?

"...odd and weird being of the lower one."

Marius, could you explain it?

Thank you.
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... of the lower register
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Hi Marius,

What does 'lower register' mean here? Could you give an example?

Thank you.
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AnonymousWhat does 'lower register' mean here? Could you give an example?


Hi,
Could anyone answer my question above? Thanks.
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AnonymousWhat does 'lower register' mean here? Could you give an example?
It means more informal.

(Incidentally, I agree that "odd" and "weird" might often be used in informally in this sentence, but in my opinion both words are also OK in formal writing. But different people have different usage patterns, so these sorts of difference in opinion are t
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Hi Mr Wordy,

Many thanks for your kind explanation. Is 'bizarre' more strange than 'weird'? Thanks.
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