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# peculiar

«peculiar» in Mova's school dictionary: **strange or unusual, sometimes in a slightly worrying way** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (peculiar, more peculiar, most peculiar)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Peculiar means strange or unusual, sometimes in a slightly worrying way. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#m1)

2) Peculiar to someone or something means belonging only to that person, place or thing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#m2)

3) (UK, informal) Feeling peculiar means feeling a bit ill or dizzy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories it signals that something odd is happening and the reader should notice: «a peculiar smell», «a peculiar man». In science and geography «peculiar to» means found only in one place. Phrases: peculiar to, a peculiar feeling, feel a bit peculiar.

### examples

- There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x1)
- The cat was acting in a peculiar way. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x2)
- Kangaroos are peculiar to Australia. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x3)
- What a peculiar hat! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x4)
- I feel a bit peculiar after that ride. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x5)
- The old house made peculiar noises at night. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x6)
- This custom is peculiar to our village. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x7)
- It's peculiar that the door was open. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x8)
- He had one very peculiar habit. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/#x9)

### note

Spelling: p-e-c-u-l-i-a-r, ending «-iar». «Peculiar to» means «only found in», not «strange to». Use «a» (a peculiar idea). Similar words: odd, strange, weird, unusual.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «peculiar» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/peculiar/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.