idiosyncrasy

6 synonyms for idiosyncrasy, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — An unusual habit or feature belonging to one particular person, which marks them out from everyone else.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

quirk peculiarity eccentricity mannerism foible oddity

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

An unusual habit or feature belonging to one particular person, which marks them out from everyone else.

“Writing every email in lower case is one of his idiosyncrasies.”

quirk peculiarity eccentricity mannerism foible

2. noun

An odd or distinctive characteristic of a thing, place or system.

“Every old house has its idiosyncrasies, and this one groans at night.”

quirk oddity peculiarity

How to use idiosyncrasy

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

personal idiosyncrasy idiosyncrasies of the system charming idiosyncrasy

Formal but common; the adjective idiosyncratic is used more often than the noun.

Etymology

From Greek idios meaning 'own' or 'private' and synkrasis meaning 'mixture' or 'temperament'.

Full origin of idiosyncrasy →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an idiosyncrasy and a quirk?

They overlap almost completely, but quirk is shorter, warmer and more everyday, while idiosyncrasy is formal and suggests a settled trait rather than a one-off oddity.

How do you spell and pronounce idiosyncrasy?

It ends in -crasy, not -cracy, because it comes from krasis meaning mixture rather than kratos meaning power. Say id-ee-oh-SING-kruh-see, with the stress on the third syllable.

Is calling someone idiosyncratic a compliment?

It is usually mild and affectionate, suggesting individuality rather than fault. It can be a polite way of noting that someone is difficult, so tone and context matter.

People also searched

mannerism quirk oddity peculiarity foible eccentricity

Nearby words

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