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Shakespeare's Connection to Weird
You may know weird as a generalized term describing something unusual, but this word also has older meanings that are more specific. Weird derives from the Old English noun wyrd, essentially meaning "fate." By the 8th century, the plural wyrde had begun to appear in texts as a gloss for Parcae, the Latin name for the Fates—three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Scots authors employed werd or weird in the phrase "weird sisters" to refer to the Fates. William Shakespeare adopted this usage in Macbeth, in which the "weird sisters" are depicted as three witches. Subsequent adjectival use of weird grew out of a reinterpretation of the weird used by Shakespeare.
Synonyms
Adjective
Examples of weird in a Sentence
Steve Nadis, Astronomy, October 2005
If you looked at them closely you realized they were carved with weird, pagan creatures, more like hobgoblins than men, half hidden among trees and leaves—here acanthus and there what looked like a palm tree.
—Kate Atkinson, Case Histories, 2004
As an extended fictional device allegory is used mainly in didactic, satirical fables, such as Gulliver's Travels, Animal Farm and Erewhon. In these masterpieces a surface realism of presentation gives the fantastic events a kind of weird plausibility …
—David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992
My little brother acts weird sometimes.
I heard a weird noise.
That's weird—I put my book down right here just a few minutes ago and now it's gone.
Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 June 2024
Here's a look at the weird and wonderful food and drink creations up for awards at the Wisconsin State Fair.
—Hope Karnopp, Journal Sentinel, 12 June 2024
Things get weirder and more delightful with a bobcat and bear band, where instruments are fashioned out of logs and vegetation, and later some Afro-Cuban frogs jamming out with acorns.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
And then things get really weird in a way that only a Lovecraft movie can.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for weird 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'weird.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Weird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weird. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
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