high strangeness
A quality of being peculiar, bizarre, utterly absurd.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The strange lights in the sky had a sense of high strangeness.”
“The empty city streets at noon have a feeling of high strangeness.”
“You can sense the high strangeness in these old, blurry photographs.”
“The detective felt a sense of high strangeness when he entered the room and found all the furniture bolted to the ceiling.”
“The hiker described a moment of high strangeness when he realized the forest had gone completely silent and the shadows were moving against the wind.”
“We experienced high strangeness during the meeting when every clock in the office stopped at the exact same second for no apparent reason.”
“The witness struggled to describe the high strangeness of the encounter, noting that the laws of physics seemed to dissolve as the object vanished into thin air.”
Introduced in the 1970s by the astronomer Dr J. Allen Hynek, the term originated within the study of unidentified flying objects. It was intended to categorise reports that defied conventional explanation through an exceptional degree of internal absurdity or defiance of physical laws.
- 01
come hell or high water
Regardless of the hardships; no matter what difficulties may arise.
- 02
friends in high places
Friends who have authority or influence and who can ensure that one's interests will be protected or furthered.
- 03
get high
To intoxicate oneself with drugs or other substances.
- 04
get off one's high horse
To stop acting in an imperious, overbearing or bossy manner.
- 05
hell or high water
Highly adverse circumstances; acts of God.
- 06
high and dry
Abandoned, stranded, helpless.
- 07
high and low
Everywhere; all over the place.
- 08
high and mighty
Overbearingly arrogant; ostentatiously self-important or self-aggrandizing.
Last updated August 10, 2026