What does peculiar mean?
Word: Peculiar
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Peculiar means odd or unusual, in a way that makes you notice it. It can also mean belonging only to one person or place.
Synonyms: strange, odd, unusual
Antonyms: ordinary, common
How do you spell peculiar?
Syllables: pe - cu - liar
Tricky part: The end is iar, not ier or ear, so peculier and peculear are the usual slips.
Watch out for: peculier, pecular, peculear
Memory tip: Remember 'I Am Rare': the i, a and r at the end of peculiar spell out something odd.
Peculiar in a sentence
Example 1: There was a peculiar smell coming from the old cupboard.
Example 2: Our parrot has a peculiar habit of whistling at the doorbell.
Example 3: Each hill village has a song that is peculiar to it.
Fun Fact
Peculiar comes from a Latin word for a person's own private property. That word grew from the Latin for cattle, because cattle were once the main wealth a family owned.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: peculiar
a) normal
b) famous
c) clever
d) secret
Show answer
a) normal. Peculiar means odd, so normal is its opposite.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
pecculiar
a) e
b) c
c) u
d) l
Show answer
b) c. Pe-cu-liar: the c starts the second beat on its own, so the extra one must go.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
lucipare
a) particular
b) peculiar
c) pecuniary
d) popular
Show answer
b) peculiar. Particular, popular and pecuniary each need letters that are not here, such as a t, an o or an n.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
p_c_liar
a) i, u
b) e, u
c) a, u
d) e, a
Show answer
b) e, u. The word starts like pet, and its second beat is cu, as in cucumber.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Something peculiar would be ____.
a) a bird that flies
b) a dog that barks
c) a cat that barks
d) a fish that swims
Show answer
c) a cat that barks
2. Kiwi birds are peculiar to New Zealand. This means they are ____.
a) found everywhere
b) special to that country
c) very noisy
d) seen only in zoos
Show answer
b) special to that country
