Nearby Words

freak

[freek] Example Sentences Origin

freak

1[freek]
noun
1.
any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration.
2.
a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster.
3.
a sudden and apparently causeless change or turn of events, the mind, etc.; an apparently capricious notion, occurrence, etc.: That kind of sudden storm is a freak.
4.
Numismatics. an imperfect coin, undetected at the mint and put into circulation.
5.
Philately. a stamp differing from others of the same printing because of creases, dirty engraving plates, etc. Compare error (def. 8), variety (def. 8).
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6.
Slang.
a.
a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak.
b.
a devoted fan or follower; enthusiast: a baseball freak.
c.
a hippie.
7.
Archaic. capriciousness; whimsicality.
COLLAPSE
adjective
8.
unusual; odd; irregular: a freak epidemic.

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Freak is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to flee; abscond:
verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
9.
to become or make frightened, nervous, or wildly excited: The loud noise caused the horse to freak.
10.
freak out, Slang.
a.
to enter into or cause a period of irrational behavior or emotional instability, as under the influence of a drug: to be freaked out on LSD.
b.
to lose or cause to lose emotional control from extreme excitement, shock, fear, joy, despair, etc.: Seeing the dead body freaked him out.

Origin:
1555–65; 1965–70 for def. 6; perhaps akin to Old English frīcian to dance


3. vagary, quirk, crotchet.

Example Sentences
  • Freak deals usually turn into guessing games from which little can be learned, but occasionally one has instructive elements.
  • Martin is treated kindly, but as you can see as a bit of a freak.
  • Freak floods are threatening lives, homes and crops.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

freak

2[freek]
verb (used with object)
1.
to fleck, streak, or variegate: great splashes of color freaking the sky.
noun
2.
a fleck or streak of color.

Origin:
apparently introduced by Milton in Lycidas (1637), perhaps as blend of freck to mark with spots (perhaps back formation from freckle) and streak
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To freak
Collins
World English Dictionary
freak1 (friːk)
 
n
1.  a person, animal, or plant that is abnormal or deformed; monstrosity
2.  a.  an object, event, etc, that is abnormal or extremely unusual
 b.  (as modifier): a freak storm
3.  a personal whim or caprice
4.  informal a person who acts or dresses in a markedly unconventional or strange way
5.  informal a person who is obsessed with something specified: a jazz freak
 
vb
6.  See freak out
 
[C16: of obscure origin]

freak2 (friːk)
 
n
1.  a fleck or streak of colour
 
vb
2.  (tr) to streak with colour; variegate
 
[C17: from earlier freaked, probably coined by Milton, based on streak1 + obsolete freckt freckled; see freckle]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

freak
1560s, "sudden turn of mind," perhaps related to O.E. frician "to dance" (not recorded in M.E., but the word may have survived in dialect), or perhaps from M.E. frek "bold, quickly," from O.E. frec "greedy, gluttonous." Sense of "capricious notion" (1560s) and "unusual thing, fancy" (1784) preceded that
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in freak of nature (1847). The sense in health freak, ecology freak, etc. is attested from 1908. The verb meaning "change, distort" goes back to 1911.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

freak (out) definition


  1. in.
    to panic; to lose control. : I was so frightened, I thought I would freak.
  2. n.
    a bad drug experience; a psychotic reaction to the drug LSD. (Drugs. Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some of them get turned off to drugs by a really good freakout.
  3. n.
    a wild party of any type; any exciting happening. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : There is a big freak-out at Freddy's joint tonight.
  4. n.
    a freaked (out)person. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some poor freak-out sat in the corner and rocked.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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