1
as in bizarre
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion
the night watchman calls the police if he notices any out-of-the-way activity taking place during his shift
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unusual
noticeably different from what is generally found or experienced
there was nothing out-of-the-way about the hitchhiker's appearance that might arouse suspicion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
out of the way
2 of 2phrase
1
as in up
brought or having come to an end
Now that we've got the first step out of the way it's time to start phase two.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation
They hoped he wouldn't say anything out of the way at the party.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of out-of-the-way
Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
My eye was arrested by a couple of pairs in a stunning new shade, the purple of wisteria, sitting on an almost-out-of-the-way shelf.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2025
The out-of-the-way, squat brick building is appropriately dark inside, but clean and fairly spacious.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 14 Aug. 2025
Act 2 finds the trio ending their six-week engagement at an out-of-the-way Nashville bar.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for out-of-the-way
Adjective
And Beekman Place, the tiny, out-of-the-way East River enclave favored by the old-money crowd since Shipman and her society cohort transformed it into a fashionable spot in the 1920s, largely fell out of favor around 2000.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
My eye was arrested by a couple of pairs in a stunning new shade, the purple of wisteria, sitting on an almost-out-of-the-way shelf.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2025
The out-of-the-way, squat brick building is appropriately dark inside, but clean and fairly spacious.
—Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 14 Aug. 2025
Act 2 finds the trio ending their six-week engagement at an out-of-the-way Nashville bar.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for out-of-the-way
Recent Examples of Synonyms for out-of-the-way
Adjective
-
Having stabilized his ship in orbit around the black hole, Dr Hans Reinhardt (a bizarre, OTT performance from Maximilian Schell) now plans to fly into it, assisted by an unquestioning crew of automatons with a very dark origin story.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
8 Feb. 2026
-
That's bizarre to me, especially those two.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That unusual role for a spy chief raised additional questions from Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees.—
DAVID KLEPPER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
-
What was unusual, in Lublin’s view, was for Bessent to reveal his thoughts on monetary policy — normally the purview of the Federal Reserve — and his insistence that Trump has the right to interfere with the decision-making of the central bank.—
Fatima Hussein,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In a strange twist, the Max app was developed by VKontakte (VK), which Durov co-founded before selling his shares and leaving Russia in 2014, after Durov said the Kremlin had asked the site to hand over Ukrainian users’ data.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Paul, the polarizing boxer, has been no stranger to showing emotion.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Those conditions are uncommon, but not unprecedented in the historical record.—
Newsroom Meteorologist,
Houston Chronicle,
13 Feb. 2026
-
This is something that is common around young stars that have turbulent and violent environments, but is uncommon for stars as old as ASASSN-24fw, estimated to be around 1 billion years old.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
By the letter of the current weird law, yes, the officials got it right, but the law is a problem here because Haaland’s reaction should surely not define how the sequence is viewed.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
But hey, this was the '90s, when being weird for weird's sake was a thing, and a creepy animatronic penguin lurking in the shadows and terrorizing humans in a variety of '90s-ish noir settings is definitely that.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
From the other side of the window the guard is giving me funny kine looks.—
Jasmin 'Iolani Hakes,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
-
But history, which has a funny way of repeating itself, suggests otherwise.—
Stephen Mihm,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But we were left with an odd bitterness and powdery feeling in our mouths after eating the testing pieces.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Tyler Mahle had his first reasonably healthy season since 2022 and, despite some odd underlying metrics, prevented runs.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Mass shootings are rare in Canada, a country with much stricter gun laws than the US, and school shootings of this scale are almost unheard of.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Because the foxes in the Sierra Nevada are isolated from their relatives living in the Lassen Peak area, the collaring of this fox offers scientists a rare opportunity to better understand the ecology and conservation needs of this remote group.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Out-of-the-way.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/out-of-the-way. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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