offbeat
/ˈɒfbiːt/ noun, adjective
Forms offbeats off-beat off beat
- noun (music) The beats not normally accented in a measure. “The congregation clapped along on the offbeat.”
- noun (slang, figurative) An unconventional person, someone who does not follow the beat, who chooses not to conform.
- adjective (slang, figurative) Unusual; unconventional; not ordinary. “He has such an offbeat sense of humor that hardly anyone finds his jokes amusing.”
Synonyms
oddball free spirit heteroclite individualist nonconformist outré eccentric deviant deviate maverick misfit bizarro coot crackpot crank freak glaik hard case kook live one upbeat far-out kinky quirky way-out
Etymology
From off- + beat; not following the beat (e.g., of a drum that sounds out cadence).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “offbeat”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details