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quirk Definition

quirk (kwʉrk)

noun

    1. a sudden twist, turn, or stroke a quirk of fortune
    2. a flourish in writing
  1. an evasion, subterfuge, or quibble
  2. a peculiarity, peculiar trait, or mannerism
  3. Now Rare a clever turn of speech; sally; quip
  4. Archit. a groove running lengthwise in a molding

Etymology: < ?

transitive verb

Archit. to form with quirks

quirk Related Forms
quirki·ly adverb quirki·ness noun quirky adjective quirki·er, quirki·est
quirk Synonyms

quirk

n.

vagary, whim, caprice, turn, twist, peculiarity, foible, idiosyncrasy, mannerism, eccentricity, oddity, kink, crotchet, fancy, whimsy, conceit, humor, bee in the bonnet*; see also caprice, characteristic, irregularity 2.

quirk Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • annoy: A couple of annoying software quirks should be sorted out.
  • have: He doesn't think there really is such a thing, everyone has quirks to what their usage is.
  • know: Get to know the quirks and peculiarities of certain horses before you buy them.

Adjective modifier

  • strange: The game has some strange quirks which sometimes show up during missions.
  • odd: Tonight she recalls the odd quirks of her first UK visit.
  • statistical: Sir Richard said this finding did not show the power lines caused leukemia - he thinks this could be " a statistical quirk " .
  • psychological: The ability to keep on searching for the new, new thing is a psychological quirk.
  • minor: The book is well produced and, bar minor editorial quirks, is eminently readable.
  • little: They all have their little quirks don't they?

Modifies a noun

  • mode: The developers made a concession, in quirks mode only, for honoring ( misguided ) requests to use Symbol font.

Noun used with modifier

  • personality: They also show signs of having personality quirks that are probably not integral to any purpose.
  • design: Closer inspection of the room provided us with further Indian interior design quirks.

Possessives

  • mode: Without this most browsers will be thrown into ' quirks ' mode which will lead to all sorts of incompatibility problems.

Preposition: in

  • law: Due to a quirk in the law it is not illegal to disseminate such pictures but it is illegal to print and sell them.

Preposition: of

  • fate: These trials are not quirks of fate or some such thing.
  • nature: I am thankful that, even with all the quirks of human nature, such a place exists here.
  • history: By a quirk of history, we are still here.
  • character: Each boy was now looked on as having his individual problems and quirks of character.
  • system: That his majority was tiny was due to a stupid quirk of the electoral system.

Preposition: like

  • phil: Taking his biggest quirk like phil like the olds these were shown.

Browse dictionary entries near quirk

  1. Quirites
  2. Quirinus
  3. Quirinal
  4. quire
  5. quipu
  6. quip
  7. quintuplicate
  8. quintuplet
  9. quintuple
  10. Quintin
  1. quirt
  2. quisling
  3. quit
  4. quitch
  5. quitclaim
  6. quitclaim deed
  7. quite
  8. Quito
  9. quitrent
  10. quits