unconventional
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Not conforming to accepted rules or standards.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnkuhnvehnshuhnuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənkənˈvɛnʃənəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not conforming to accepted rules or standards
“Her unconventional dress and hair style.”
Not adhering to custom, convention, or accepted standards.
Out of the ordinary.
Atypical.
noun
Something or someone that is unconventional.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not conforming to accepted rules or standards
Used this way, unconventional is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Her unconventional dress and hair style.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use unconventional
- “Her unconventional dress and hair style.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.