What does "bizarre" mean?

1. (very strange) very strange and unusual, often in a way that is surprising or funny. 2. (striped flower) a type of flower, like a tulip or carnation, that has colourful stripes on its petals.

How do you use "bizarre"?

Usually refers to historical tulip varieties from the seventeenth century.

bizarre

adj. · n.

US //bəˈzɑɹ// UK //bɪzˈɑː// bizarre

1 very strange (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

very strange and unusual, often in a way that is surprising or funny.

strikingly unconventional or far-fetched in style or appearance; often implies a sense of the grotesque or the eccentric.

Example

The movie had a bizarre ending that nobody in the audience expected.

Example

The witness gave a bizarre account of the evening's events, claiming he had seen a glowing object hover over the lake before vanishing into the clouds.
2 striped flower (n.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Archaic Science

a type of flower, like a tulip or carnation, that has colourful stripes on its petals.

a variety of flower, particularly a tulip or carnation, characterised by distinct stripes or streaks of different colours on the petals.

Example

The gardener showed us a bizarre with beautiful purple and white stripes.

Example

During the height of the Dutch tulip craze, a single bizarre with unique flamed patterns could fetch a price higher than a townhouse in Amsterdam.

Usage

Usually refers to historical tulip varieties from the seventeenth century.
- variegated

Origin

Borrowed from French bizarre (“odd, peculiar, bizarre”, formerly “headlong, angry”). Either from Basque bizar (“a beard”) (the notion being that bearded Spanish soldiers made a strange impression on the French), or from Italian bizzarro.