as in eccentrics
a person of odd or whimsical habits
she's known as the office oddball
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of oddballs
Black Rock Coalition bands like funk-metal group 24-7 Spyz and shoegaze oddballs the Veldt—particularly when the Veldt’s murkiness resolves into a major-key chorus.
—
Hannah Jocelyn,
Pitchfork,
22 June 2026
His trilogy is, likewise, a straphangers’ gallery of metropolitan oddballs, from Zippo, a pyromaniac turned blaxploitation filmmaker, to Uncle Rich, a master criminal who stages a daring raid on the Waldorf-Astoria from a disused train tunnel with the help of a homeless army.
—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
In January 2010, Tesla had sold less than 2,000 cars in its entire history, virtually all of them electric oddballs based on sports cars from Lotus, a relatively obscure British company.
—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Then there are oddballs – traction control – pretty rare in this class, alongside ABS, and a belt drive.
—
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
But the scenes she’s devised for these sympathetically difficult oddballs go nowhere.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
All the sun’s planets are oddballs.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2026
Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.
—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
The Sun Belt is the only real exception, having now defined itself as FBS’ actual Southeastern conference, partly by losing its former oddballs like Idaho and New Mexico State.
—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Hannah Jocelyn,
Pitchfork,
22 June 2026
His trilogy is, likewise, a straphangers’ gallery of metropolitan oddballs, from Zippo, a pyromaniac turned blaxploitation filmmaker, to Uncle Rich, a master criminal who stages a daring raid on the Waldorf-Astoria from a disused train tunnel with the help of a homeless army.
—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
In January 2010, Tesla had sold less than 2,000 cars in its entire history, virtually all of them electric oddballs based on sports cars from Lotus, a relatively obscure British company.
—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Then there are oddballs – traction control – pretty rare in this class, alongside ABS, and a belt drive.
—
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
But the scenes she’s devised for these sympathetically difficult oddballs go nowhere.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
All the sun’s planets are oddballs.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2026
Those crazy, diverse individuals, that tribe of oddballs and eccentrics, dreamers, and gamblers who make up this business.
—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
The Sun Belt is the only real exception, having now defined itself as FBS’ actual Southeastern conference, partly by losing its former oddballs like Idaho and New Mexico State.
—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oddballs
Noun
-
Dippold has populated the show with lovable eccentrics played by great character actors—Dale Dickey, Jeff Hiller, Tim Baltz.
-
Inbred eccentrics and bumbling detectives have populated the seaside villages of Bruno Dumont’s absurdist comedies.
Noun
-
Granola One of the original ‘health foods,’ granola contains many nutritious ingredients, such as oats, nuts, and seeds.
-
California's Central Valley, stretching some 20,000 square miles (51,800 square kilometers), is an agricultural powerhouse that's estimated to produce 40% of the nation's fruits, nuts and other table foods, including most of its nectarines.
Cite this Entry
“Oddballs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oddballs. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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