SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
exotic
adjective
Unfamiliar or unusual, often because it comes from elsewhere.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Unusual or from elsewhere
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topNon-native specifies origin; exotic can instead emphasize how unfamiliar something seems to an observer.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See exotic in use
The traveler collected stories about exotic instruments she had never heard before.
A judge finds one competitor's spice mixture exotic because its aroma and combination are unfamiliar within the judge's own cooking experience.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license