peculiarity

noun

pe·​cu·​liar·​i·​ty pi-ˌkyül-ˈyer-ə-tē 

-ˈya-rə-;

-ˌkyü-lē-ˈer-ə-,

-ˈa-rə-

plural peculiarities

1

: the quality or state of being peculiar

2

: a distinguishing characteristic

3

: oddity, quirk

Synonyms

• crotchet
• curiosity
• eccentricity
• erraticism
• idiosyncrasy
• individualism
• kink
• mannerism
• oddity
• quiddity
• quip
• quirk
• singularity
• tic
• trick
• twist

Examples of peculiarity in a Sentence

the peculiarity of his appearance

It is a peculiarity of the house that there is no front door.

her peculiarities as a writer

Scientists tried to explain some peculiarities in the results of the experiment.

Recent Examples on the Web

Just one of the endless peculiarities that made up my dad. —Chris Wallace, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2025

Advertisement In her loneliness and, paradoxically, in her peculiarity, Mickey embodies a recognizable archetype: the righteous female cop protagonist of a prestige crime drama. —Judy Berman, TIME, 12 Mar. 2025

Another peculiarity is how the orbits of some of the dwarfs are arranged, with half of them orbiting around the Andromeda galaxy in the same plane, and all in the same direction. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Feb. 2025

In a move that perfectly encapsulates the peculiarities of our times, Donald Trump launched a meme coin on January 17th, 2025, just a few days before his presidential inauguration. —Boaz Sobrado, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for peculiarity

• angularity
• bipolarity
• capillarity
• cellularity
• circularity
• familiarity
• granularity
• insincerity
• insularity
• modularity
• osmolarity
• popularity

Kids Definition

peculiarity

noun

pe·​cu·​liar·​i·​ty pi-ˌkyül-ˈyar-ət-ē 

-ˌkyü-lē-ˈar-

plural peculiarities

1

: the quality or state of being peculiar

2

: something different or individual

3

: something odd or abnormal