different between erratic vs oddball

English

Alternative forms

• erratick, erraticke, erratique (all obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin erraticus; compare Old French erratique.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???æt?k/
• Rhymes: -æt?k

Adjective

erratic (comparative more erratic, superlative most erratic)

1. unsteady, random; prone to unexpected changes; not consistent

   Henry has been getting erratic scores on his tests: 40% last week, but 98% this week.

2. Deviating from normal opinions or actions; eccentric; odd.

   erratic conduct

Antonyms

• consistent

Derived terms

• erratical
• erratically
• erraticness

Translations

Noun

erratic (plural erratics)

1. (geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a glacier.
   • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA 2003, p. 372:

     The term for a displaced boulder is an erratic, but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks.

2. Anything that has erratic characteristics.

Synonyms

• (glaciers): dropstone

Translations

Anagrams

• Cartier, cartier, cirrate, rice rat

English

Etymology

Compound of odd +? ball. Attested since the 1940s, with the adjective appearing earlier than the noun.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /???d?b?l/

Noun

oddball (plural oddballs)

1. An eccentric or unusual person.
2. (neuroscience) A deviant stimulus that appears among repetitive stimuli during an experiment, to trigger an event-related potential in the participant.

Synonyms

• (eccentric or unusual person): kook, odd duck, strange fish, queer fish, weirdo; see also Thesaurus:strange person

Translations

Adjective

oddball (not comparable)

1. Exotic, not mainstream.

Translations