Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

freak

/fɹiːk/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.08 in modern English

Syllables
freak
IPA
/fɹiːk/
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.

noun

A person who is extremely abnormal in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, or business practices; an oddball, a unique person, originally in a displeasing or alienating way.

Derogatory; Slang

noun

A person who is extremely abnormal in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, or business practices; an oddball, a unique person, originally in a displeasing or alienating way.

Derogatory; Slang

noun

A person who is extremely abnormal in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, or business practices; an oddball, a unique person, originally in a displeasing or alienating way.

Derogatory; Slang

noun

A person whose physique has grown far beyond the normal limits of muscular development; often a bodybuilder weighing more than 260 pounds (120 kg).

noun

An enthusiast, or person who has an obsession with, or extreme knowledge of, something.

noun

A very sexually perverse individual.

Informal

noun

A wild dance.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *preg- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Germanic *-az Proto-Germanic *frekaz Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *frekōną Proto-West Germanic *frekōn Old English frician? Old English frīcian Middle English friken? ▲ Proto-Germanic *frekaz Proto-West Germanic *frek Old English frec English frekder.? English freak First attested in 1567. The sense "sudden change of mind, a whim" is of uncertain origin. Probably from a dialectal word related to Middle English frekynge (“capricious behavior; whims”) and Middle English friken, frikien (“to move briskly or nimbly”), from Old English frīcian (“to leap, dance”), or Middle English frek (“insolent, daring”), from Old English frec (“desirous, greedy, eager, bold, daring”), from Proto-West Germanic *frek, from Proto-Germanic *frekaz, *frakaz (“hard, efficient, greedy, bold, audacious”) (in which case, it would be related to the noun under etymology 3). Compare Old High German freh (“eager”), Old English frēcne (“dangerous”). For the meaning development compare Russian заско́к (zaskók) akin to ско́к (skók), скака́ть (skakátʹ).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: friken, frīcian, frek, frec, *frek, *frekaz

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /fɹiːk/
  • British English: /fɹiːk/

Usage

Inflected Forms

freaks (plural) freake (alternative, obsolete) freik (alternative, Scotland) freke (alternative, Scotland) frick (alternative, Scotland) freaks (present, singular) freaking (participle, present) freaked (participle, past) freaked (past)

Derived Forms

cyberfreak defreak demofreak ecofreak freakazoid freakbeat freakdom freakend freakery freakful freakhood freakish

Phrases

circus freak clean freak control freak eagle freak freak flag fly the freak flag freak folk freak-off

Synonyms

anomaly outlier aberrant abnormality deviance deviant farlie freak irregularity odd fish oddity peculiarity

Homonyms

phreak freq

Rhymes With

week speak unique weak seek peak greek technique creek leak streak sneak

Questions

How do you pronounce freak?
The recorded pronunciation is /fɹiːk/.
What does freak mean?
Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.
Where does freak come from?
It is traced to Middle English. First known use: First attested in 1567.

How to pronounce freak

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “freak”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fɹiːk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “freak”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “freak” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.