Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

freak of nature

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.03 in modern English

Syllables: freak of -na-ture
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A monstrosity; a malformation; an abnormal organism.

noun

In the variety-show business, a person or an animal on exhibition as showing some strange deviation from nature, such as a bearded woman or an albino.

Example Sentences

"He read old almanacs at the book-stalls on the quays, and he began to frequent another café, where more newspapers were taken and his post-prandial demi-tasse cost him a penny extra, and where he used to con the tattered sheets for curious anecdotes, freaks of nature, and strange coincidences."

Etymology

From lusus naturae, from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of nature”), originally used to explain fossils or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.

Inflected Forms

freaks of nature (plural)

Phrases

force of nature

Frequently Paired Words

force of nature

Synonyms

aberration abnormality anomaly deformity freak monster mutant mutation oddity rarity lusus naturae

Questions

What does freak of nature mean?: A monstrosity; a malformation; an abnormal organism.
Where does freak of nature come from?: From lusus naturae, from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of nature”), originally used to explain fossils or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.

How to pronounce freak of nature

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