outré

ou·tré

(o͞o-trā′)

adj.

Highly unconventional; eccentric or bizarre: "outré and affected stage antics" (Michael Heaton).

[French, from Old French, defeated, past participle of outrer, to pass someone, from outre, beyond, from Latin ultrā; see al- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

outré

(ˈuːtreɪ)

adj

deviating from what is usual or proper

[C18: from French past participle of outrer to pass beyond]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ou•tré

(uˈtreɪ)

adj.

passing the bounds of what is usual or considered proper; unconventional; bizarre.

[1715–25; < French]

outré

A French word meaning having gone beyond, used to describe something that has exceeded what is customary or proper.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

outré - conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

outre - conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual; "restaurants of bizarre design--one like a hat, another like a rabbit"; "famed for his eccentric spelling"; "a freakish combination of styles"; "his off-the-wall antics"; "the outlandish clothes of teenagers"; "outre and affected stage antics"

bizarre, eccentric, gonzo, off-the-wall, outlandish, freaky, flakey, flaky, freakish

unconventional - not conventional or conformist; "unconventional life styles"

outré

adjective eccentric, odd, strange, out there (slang), bizarre, fantastic, weird, way-out (informal), peculiar, queer (informal), extravagant, rum (Brit. slang), quirky, singular, grotesque, unconventional, idiosyncratic, kinky (informal), off-the-wall (slang), outlandish, whimsical, left-field (informal), freakish, freaky (slang), wacko (slang) outré outfits designed by art students

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

outré

[ˈuːtreɪ] ADJ → extravagante, estrafalarío

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

outré

adj → überspannt, extravagant

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

It appears to me that this mystery is considered insoluble, for the very reason which should cause it to be regarded as easy of solution - I mean for the outré character of its features.

View in context

If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outré results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable."

View in context

It is a case, Watson, which may prove to have something in it, or may prove to have nothing, but which, at least, presents those unusual and outré features which are as dear to you as they are to me.