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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.
Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2024
One eye is smaller than the other, my nose is crooked, my lips are weird.
—Emily Maddick, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2024
Embodied AIs given the freedom to learn like this will be hilariously weird.
—New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2024
These are the best bites, worst food fails and just plain weirdest dishes.
—The Arizona Republic, 28 Sep. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near weird
Cite this Entry
“Weird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weird. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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