Crossword Dictionary

UNUSUAL

unusual - a 
not usual or common or ordinary; "a scene of unusual beauty"; "a man of unusual ability"; "cruel and unusual punishment"; "an unusual meteorite" 
not commonly encountered; "two-career families are no longer unusual"

wordplays

Synonyms

curious, extraordinary, funny, odd, offbeat, out-of-the-way, peculiar, queer, rare, singular, strange, unaccustomed, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, weird

merriam-webster

Examples

“It was unusual having nothing to do.”

“Talking with Fritz was better than nothing, but this young man had an unusual way of thinking.”

“Felipa didn't seem to notice anything unusual in his attitude, so maybe he had always treated them that way.”

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Etymology

1580s, from un- (1) "not" + usual (adj.). Related: Unusually.

un- (1)
prefix of negation, Old English un-, from Proto-Germanic *un- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German, German un-, Gothic un-, Dutch on-), from PIE *n- (source of Sanskrit a-, an- "not," Greek a-, an-, Old Irish an-, Latin in-), combining form of PIE root *ne- "not." Often euphemistic (such as untruth for "lie").

usual (adj.)
late 14c., from Old French usuel "current, in currency (of money), valid" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin usualis "ordinary," from Latin usus "custom" (see use (v.)). The usual suspects is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in "Casablanca" (1942).

etymonline