strangest

Strangest is the superlative form of the adjective strange. It describes something that is most unusual, surprising, or difficult to classify within a given set or context. It can modify nouns referring to people, events, objects, ideas, or places: the strangest coincidence, the strangest habit. The word can convey unfamiliarity, eeriness, oddity, or foreignness depending on context. It is often used when contrasting with what is normal or expected, and is common in narrative or descriptive writing.

Strange comes from Old French estrange, from Latin extraneus meaning foreign. English adopted it in Middle English, and the -est suffix forms the superlative. The noun stranger meaning a person who is unfamiliar or foreign is etymologically related. The term strangest is widely used in everyday speech and literature.

Related terms include strange, stranger, and strangeness. Strangest differs from odd or weird in nuance: strange is broad, odd implies peculiarity, while weird often carries unsettling or supernatural connotations. In modern usage, strangest can appear in hyperbolic phrases such as the strangest thing ever. It also appears as a title or emphasis in headlines and fiction.