exotic
Americanadjective
-
of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized.
exotic foods; exotic plants.
-
strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance.
an exotic hairstyle.
-
of a uniquely new or experimental nature.
exotic weapons.
-
of, relating to, or involving stripteasing.
the exotic clubs where strippers are featured.
noun
-
something that is exotic.
The flower show included several tropical exotics with showy blooms.
-
an exotic dancer; a striptease dancer or belly dancer.
adjective
-
originating in a foreign country, esp one in the tropics; not native
an exotic plant
-
having a strange or bizarre allure, beauty, or quality
-
(of trees, esp pine trees) native to the northern hemisphere but cultivated in New Zealand
an exotic forest
-
of or relating to striptease
noun
Other Word Forms
- exotically adverb
- exoticism noun
- exoticness noun
- nonexotic adjective
- nonexotically adverb
- unexotic adjective
- unexotically adverb
Etymology
Origin of exotic
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin exōticus, from Greek exōtikós “foreign;” exo-, -tic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The living room of one cabin was decorated with exotic animal heads on the wall, including a zebra.
From Los Angeles Times
The good news for the Johns Hopkins team: The metal-organic frameworks they’ve pioneered are potentially so precise that future microchips made of graphene or other exotic materials might be patterned using them.
"A lot of these exotic animals are very expensive to keep, they require a lot of heating for example, it costs a lot of money to look after them."
From BBC
But to hear those words come from someone else was an entirely exotic experience.
From Literature
Now, some investment firms trying to grab a slice of the fees generated by the trillions of dollars flowing into ETFs are taking the opposite approach: racing to sell new, exotic and riskier offerings.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
