noun
idiosyncrasy
id-ee-uh-SING-kruh-see/ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi/
An unusual trait characteristic of a particular person or thing.
Arranging every pencil perfectly parallel is the worker's distinctive idiosyncrasy.
Etymology
The pieces describe a person’s own mixture, originally a physical constitution. This shifted to the mixture making up someone’s personality, then to a distinctive habit or trait.
In context
the curve of his mustache like mine remember I said mine goes tends to go One Direction and probably everybody has a little idiosyncrasy like that an individual way
More examples
- Every printer in this office has its own idiosyncrasies.
- We learn to appreciate our roommate's idiosyncrasies.
- One idiosyncrasy of his writing is the complete absence of commas.
Forms
idiosyncrasy · idiosyncrasies
idiosyncratic adjective — Distinctive of a particular person or thing.
Similar words
- quirk
- Often suggests a small, amusing habit or odd feature.
- peculiarity
- Emphasizes strangeness, not necessarily a trait distinctive to one individual.