18

As stated by title, I was wondering if there's any noun that means "strange object".

For example, it would be something like this:

He found many [xxx] in the abandoned house.

Improve this question
6
  • 5
    UFO! kidding. Oddment is another.
    – 4-K
    Oct 23, 2015 at 14:34
  • 7
    I know this is going to sound boring but "strange things" does the job. All the words suggested below are inaccurate. Curios are trinkets and knick knacks that you'd find in an antique store, junk shop, thrift store. When you say strange things, what are you thinking of...was the house the scene of a bizarre crime? Is it haunted or the home of zombies? Did Doc Brown live there? Knowing that would help narrow the search for a more apt word...otherwise, we're just searching blind.
    – michael_timofeev
    Oct 23, 2015 at 14:43
  • 1
    @Mrstupid Perhaps USO (Unidentified Sitting Object)? =P
    – Mike Kellogg
    Oct 23, 2015 at 18:35
  • 1
    @Mrstupid As are, of course, nitwit, blubber, and tweak. ;-)
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Oct 24, 2015 at 14:58
  • @MikeKellogg what if the unidentified object is not in the sitting position anymore? :P
    – 4-K
    Oct 26, 2015 at 15:18

14 Answers 14

Reset to default
54

oddity

: a strange or unusual person or thing

M-W

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    If somebody said they found "many oddities in the abandoned house" I'm not thinking of objects. I'm thinking of doors at crook angles, weird ghost sounds, nonstandard fasteners, and so on. Odd aspects of the house. The full definition includes 'traits'.
    – DCShannon
    Oct 26, 2015 at 16:19
31

curio

A rare, unusual, or intriguing object [ODO]

He found many curios in the abandoned house.

Improve this answer
4
  • Indeed! :) : ) : ) : )
    – Graham Nicol
    Oct 23, 2015 at 12:06
  • 11
    I don't think this has quite the right sense. A curio is not just strange, but also interesting and generally collectible.
    – mattdm
    Oct 23, 2015 at 14:50
  • @mattdm agreed...both of them did not check the synonyms for this word.
    – michael_timofeev
    Oct 23, 2015 at 16:11
  • Oddity is definitely the better word. I didn't check a thesaurus. Let that be a valuable lesson for us all.
    – Graham Nicol
    Oct 24, 2015 at 13:40
24

The word curiosity can also be used for that.

curiosity: [countable] someone or something that is interesting because they are unusual or strange:

a house full of old maps and other curiosities

(Longman)

In your case:

He found many curiosities in the abandoned house.

Improve this answer
7

Anomaly and its variants could be used here.

Merriam Webster:

something that is unusual or unexpected : something anomalous

He found many [anomolies] in the abandoned house.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Personally, I think of anomalies as being events or properties more than concrete objects.
    – codebreaker
    Oct 26, 2015 at 16:57
5

curio

He found many curios in the abandoned house.

curio ˈkjʊərɪəʊ noun a rare, unusual, or intriguing object.
"they had such fun over the wonderful box of curios that Jack had sent from India"

[ODO]

Improve this answer
1
  • 3
    Did you check the synonyms for curio?
    – michael_timofeev
    Oct 23, 2015 at 14:32
4

In your question the intensity and nature of the strangeness is unclear. Possibilities for "strange objects" include:

tchotchke

A tchotchke (/ˈtʃɒtʃkə/ CHOCH-ka) is a small bauble or miscellaneous item. The word has long been used by Jewish-Americans and in the regional speech of New York City and elsewhere. The word may also refer to free promotional items dispensed at trade shows, conventions, and similar large events.

bric-a-brac

miscellaneous small articles collected for their antiquarian, sentimental, decorative, or other interest.

knickknack

A small worthless object, especially a household ornament.

Improve this answer
3

perhaps artifact? since someone already suggested tchotchke

Improve this answer
2

Good words are: thingamabob or thingamajig

"You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty!" - Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Improve this answer
1

dingus

noun, plural dinguses. Informal. 1. a gadget, device, or object whose name is unknown or forgotten.

Improve this answer
1
  • Oddity or curiosity fits best in the context of the sample sentence.
  • In a lighthearted context, bizarrerie.
  • In an awe-inspiring sense, wonder or marvel.
  • In a Biblical or Lovecraftian sense, abomination, the latter usually modified by eldritch.
Improve this answer
1

You can use these for strange object

  • prodigy
  • antique
  • rarity

and of-course those mentioned above but these are more suitable in your context.

Improve this answer
3
  • prodigy: an amazing or unusual thing, especially one out of the ordinary course of nature. synonyms: genius, mastermind, virtuoso, wunderkind, wonder child, boy wonder, girl wonder, whiz kid, whiz wizard In other words, it doesn't fit, and neither does antique.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 26, 2015 at 7:12
  • and what about rarity?
    – Krishna
    Oct 26, 2015 at 7:26
  • I would look up that word in a dictionary and check its meaning, if I were you; does it mean: weird, odd, peculiar, unfamiliar, unusual, oddball, or strange?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 26, 2015 at 7:30
0

alien. all objects are unknown to someone

Improve this answer
1
  • Hi and welcome. The OP gave a context; in that context the answer wouldn't work (too much associated with space creatures.)
    – anongoodnurse
    Oct 27, 2015 at 21:04
0

You could go with the Douglas Adams style "He found many perfectly normal things in the abandoned house that weren't."

Improve this answer
0

If you care about ancient words, there are mirabilia and thaumata, with a notion of wonder, see for instance page 4 of Matthew Leigh From Polypragmon to Curiosus: Ancient Concepts of Curious and Meddlesome behaviour, with a preview available at Google books.

Improve this answer
0

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.