The everyday eccentric meaning is unusual in habits, dress or ideas, in a way that seems strange to others but usually does no harm. An eccentric neighbor might wear a top hat to buy milk, keep twenty clocks set to different times, or cycle to work in a cape.
The word began in astronomy and geometry, where it still means not having the same center, and that picture of being off center explains the personal sense. Below you will find what eccentric means for people, the technical uses in science and fitness, how it compares with weird and quirky, and examples of each.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
1. Odd or unconventional, usually harmlessly. 2. Not centered; not perfectly circular.Part of speech
Adjective; noun (an eccentric, an eccentric person)Pronunciation
ik-SEN-trik; also ek-SEN-trikWord forms
eccentricity (noun), eccentrically (adverb)Origin
Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Greek ekkentros, out of the centerOpposite
conventional, ordinary, mainstream; in geometry, concentricRegister
Neutral; often affectionate
Eccentric definition in its main senses
- Unconventional in behavior. Odd or unusual, especially in a way that is harmless or even appealing: an eccentric professor, eccentric taste in hats.
- A person who acts this way (noun): The village has always welcomed its eccentrics.
- Off center in geometry. Circles that do not share a center are eccentric; ones that do are concentric.
- Not perfectly round in orbits. Astronomers describe how stretched an orbit is by its eccentricity, a number from zero (a circle) upward.
- In machines. An eccentric is a wheel or disk fixed off its center on a shaft, used to turn spinning into back and forth motion.
In fitness talk, an eccentric movement is the part of an exercise where a muscle lengthens under load, such as slowly lowering a dumbbell.
The eccentric meaning in everyday sentences
- My eccentric aunt names every houseplant and reads them the weather forecast.
- The billionaire was known for eccentric habits, like eating the same lunch every day for decades.
- His home office, full of model trains and taxidermy, was charmingly eccentric.
- The comet travels on a highly eccentric orbit, swinging close to the sun and then far out.
- She dismissed his idea as eccentric, but the experiment worked.
Is eccentric a compliment?
Often it is mild and affectionate. To define eccentric in tone, think of a raised eyebrow plus a smile. It suggests individuality and freedom from social rules rather than danger or illness.
But tone depends on speaker. Calling an idea eccentric can mean it is far from normal thinking and probably wrong. And in some contexts the word can be a polite cover for behavior that worries people. If you want to praise someone clearly, original or creative may be safer; if you want to be neutral, unconventional works.
Eccentric, quirky, weird and odd
| Word | Tone | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| eccentric | Usually kind, a little formal | A person's lasting habits or style |
| quirky | Light, playful | Small surprising details: a quirky cafe |
| weird | Informal, can be unkind | Anything strange, even unsettling |
| odd | Neutral | Something that does not fit |
| anomaly | Technical, neutral | A result or case that breaks a pattern |
Do not confuse eccentric with esoteric. Esoteric means known to a narrow circle of insiders; eccentric describes unusual behavior. An eccentric person may or may not have esoteric hobbies.
Out of the center: the history
English got the word via French excentrique and Medieval Latin eccentricus, built on Greek ekkentros, from ek (out of) and kentron (center). Early English uses, the noun in the 1400s and the adjective by the 1550s, were terms of the old earth centered astronomy, for orbits whose center was not the earth. By the 1620s people were applying it figuratively to odd, whimsical behavior, and the noun for an odd person is recorded in the early 1800s. Someone eccentric, then, is a person who orbits a little away from the social center.
Word forms and pairings
The noun for the quality is eccentricity, which can be countable for a single odd habit: one of his eccentricities was wearing two watches. The adverb is eccentrically: eccentrically dressed.
Common combinations: slightly eccentric, harmlessly eccentric, wonderfully eccentric, an eccentric genius, an eccentric collector, eccentric behavior. For more personality adjectives, from aloof to introvert, open the people and feelings word list.
Frequently asked questions
Calling someone eccentric: what does that say?
It says the person behaves or dresses in unusual ways that differ from what most people do. The word usually implies the oddness is harmless and even a little charming.
Is eccentric positive or negative?
It is mostly neutral to gently positive. It can turn negative when used about ideas, suggesting they are strange and unlikely to be right. Context and tone of voice decide.
How do you pronounce eccentric?
Say ik-SEN-trik, putting the stress on SEN. The double c is pronounced as a k sound followed by an s sound.
Can eccentric be a noun?
Yes. An eccentric is a person with unusual habits, as in the town's best known eccentric. In engineering an eccentric is also an off center wheel or disk on a shaft.
What is the opposite of eccentric?
For people, the opposites are conventional, ordinary or conformist. In geometry, the opposite of eccentric circles is concentric circles, which share the same center.
What does eccentric mean in exercise?
An eccentric movement is the lowering phase where a muscle lengthens while still working, such as the slow descent in a squat. The lifting phase, where the muscle shortens, is called concentric.