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idiosyncrasy

Noun

IPA /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi/

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Meaning in plain English

An unusual habit or feature that is characteristic of a particular person, group or thing.

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Pronunciation

idiosyncrasy/ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi/

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  1. Ordinary collection of mugs

  2. Always arranged by colour

An unusual personal habit can be an idiosyncrasy.

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  1. Arranging every mug by colour is one of his endearing idiosyncrasies.
  2. We soon learnt the idiosyncrasies of the office's ageing printer.

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An unusual habit or feature that is characteristic of a particular person, group or thing.
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idiosyncrasy — An unusual habit or feature that is characteristic of a particular person, group or thing.

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An unusual habit or feature that is characteristic of a particular person, group or thing.

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Word origin

From Greek idiosynkrasia, combining ideas of one's own, together and mixture.

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The plural changes the final y to ies: one idiosyncrasy, several idiosyncrasies.

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idiosyncrasy

/ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi/ (Noun)

“An idiosyncrasy is a distinctive quirk; it does not have to be a serious fault.”

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