Stranger

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈstɹeɪndÊ’É™(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -eɪndÊ’É™(ɹ)

Origin

Old French estrangier ("foreign, alien"), from Latin extraneus ("foreign, external") (whence also English estrange), from extra ("outside of").

Adjective

1. stranger

   (comparative of strange)
• Truth is stranger than fiction. English proverb

Derived terms

• See strange

Related terms

• See strange

Full definition of stranger

Noun

1. A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance.That gentleman is a stranger to me.Children are taught not to talk to strangers.
2. An outsider or foreigner.
• ShakespeareI am a most poor woman and a stranger,
  Born out of your dominions.
• GranvilleMelons on beds of ice are taught to bear,
  And strangers to the sun yet ripen here.
• 1961, Robert A. Heinlein: “Stranger in a Strange Land”
3. A newcomer.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 7, … St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
4. (humorous) One who has not been seen for a long time.
   Hello, stranger!
5. (obsolete) One not belonging to the family or household; a guest; a visitor.
• MiltonTo honour and receive
  Our heavenly stranger.
6. (legal) One not privy or party an act, contract, or title; a mere intruder or intermeddler; one who interferes without right.Actual possession of land gives a good title against a stranger having no title.

Synonyms

• (person whom one does not know)
• (outsider, foreigner) alien, foreigner, foreign national, non-national/nonnational, non-resident/nonresident, outsider
• (newcomer) newbie, newcomer

Antonyms

• (person whom one does not know) acquaintance, friend
• (outsider, foreigner) compatriot, countryman, fellow citizen, fellow countryman, national, resident
• (newcomer)

Derived terms

• be no stranger to
• don't be a stranger
• stranger danger

Verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To estrange; to alienate.

Anagrams

• granters