Need another word that means the same as “stray”? Find 37 synonyms and 30 related words for “stray” in this overview.
- Stray as a Noun
- Definitions of "Stray" as a noun
- Synonyms of "Stray" as a noun (3 Words)
- Stray as a Verb
- Definitions of "Stray" as a verb
- Synonyms of "Stray" as a verb (23 Words)
- Usage Examples of "Stray" as a verb
- Stray as an Adjective
- Definitions of "Stray" as an adjective
- Synonyms of "Stray" as an adjective (11 Words)
- Usage Examples of "Stray" as an adjective
- Associations of "Stray" (30 Words)
The synonyms of “Stray” are: cast, drift, ramble, range, roam, roll, rove, swan, tramp, vagabond, wander, err, digress, divagate, wander off, go astray, get separated, deviate, get sidetracked, go off at a tangent, be unfaithful, have affairs, philander, isolated, random, chance, accidental, unexpected, casual, haphazard, homeless, lost, strayed, gone astray, homeless animal, stray cat, stray dog
Stray as a Noun
Definitions of "Stray" as a noun
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “stray” as a noun can have the following definitions:
- An animal that has strayed (especially a domestic animal.
- A stray person or thing, especially a domestic animal.
- Electrical phenomena interfering with radio reception.
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Synonyms of "Stray" as a noun (3 Words)
homeless animal | Poor people who unfortunately do not have a home to live in. |
stray cat | An animal that has strayed (especially a domestic animal. |
stray dog | An animal that has strayed (especially a domestic animal. |
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Stray as a Verb
Definitions of "Stray" as a verb
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “stray” as a verb can have the following definitions:
- Lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking.
- Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment.
- Wander from a direct course or at random.
- Wander or roam.
- (of the eyes or a hand) move idly or casually.
- Move away aimlessly from a group or from the right course or place.
- Be unfaithful to a spouse or partner.
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Synonyms of "Stray" as a verb (23 Words)
be unfaithful | Have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun. |
cast | Form by pouring e g wax or hot metal into a cast or mold. You can look at the star chart cast at somebody s birth. |
deviate | Cause to turn away from a previous or expected course. The river was deviated to prevent flooding. |
digress | Wander from a direct or straight course. I have digressed a little from my original plan. |
divagate | Stray or digress. Yeats divagated into Virgil s territory only once. |
drift | Move passively, aimlessly, or involuntarily into a certain situation or condition. Excited voices drifted down the hall. |
err | Wander from a direct course or at random. He has erred and strayed as many of us have. |
get separated | Undergo (as of injuries and illnesses. |
get sidetracked | Overcome or destroy. |
go astray | Be contained in. |
go off at a tangent | Change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically. |
have affairs | Have a personal or business relationship with someone. |
philander | (of a man) readily or frequently enter into casual sexual relationships with women. Married men who philander. |
ramble | (of a plant) put out long shoots and grow over walls or other plants. Roses climbed rambled hung over walls. |
range | Place or arrange in a row or rows or in a specified manner. Japan ranged herself against the European nations. |
roam | (of a person’s mind or thoughts) drift along without dwelling on anything in particular. Her eyes roamed over the chattering women. |
roll | Move along or from side to side unsteadily or uncontrollably. The waves rolled towards the beach. |
rove | Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment. The policeman s eyes roved around the pub. |
swan | Sweep majestically. Swanning around Europe nowadays are we. |
vagabond | Wander about as or like a vagabond. Roving vagabonds. |
wander | To move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course. Might her husband be wandering. |
wander off | Go via an indirect route or at no set pace. |
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Usage Examples of "Stray" as a verb
- The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her.
- Her eyes strayed to the telephone.
- The military arrested anyone who strayed into the exclusion zone.
- Over these mounds the shepherd strays.
- Dog owners are urged not to allow their dogs to stray.
- Men who stray are seen as more exciting and desirable.
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Stray as an Adjective
Definitions of "Stray" as an adjective
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “stray” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
- (of a domestic animal) having no home or having wandered away from home.
- (of a physical quantity) arising as a consequence of the laws of physics, but unwanted and usually having a detrimental effect on the operation of equipment.
- (of an animal) having no home or having wandered away from home.
- Having no home or having wandered away from home.
- Not in the right place; separated from the group or target.
- Not close together in time.
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Synonyms of "Stray" as an adjective (11 Words)
accidental | Not of prime or central importance. The damage might have been accidental. |
casual | Characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility. They don t do one night stands or casual flings. |
chance | Occurring or appearing or singled out by chance. A chance meeting. |
gone astray | Well in the past; former. |
haphazard | Lacking any obvious principle of organization. A most haphazard system of record keeping. |
homeless | Physically or spiritually homeless or deprived of security. Charities for the homeless. |
isolated | Not close together in time. Isolated incidents of student unrest. |
lost | Having lost your bearings confused as to time or place or personal identity. She stood there clutching a drink feeling completely lost. |
random | Lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance. We stumbled on another live band playing at a random bar. |
strayed | Having no home or having wandered away from home. |
unexpected | Not expected or regarded as likely to happen. He seemed to have a knack for saying the unexpected. |
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Usage Examples of "Stray" as an adjective
- A stray calf.
- A stray dog.
- Stray capacitance.
- Stray dogs.
- She was killed by a stray bullet.
- He pushed a few stray hairs from her face.
- A few stray crumbs.
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Associations of "Stray" (30 Words)
aimlessly | Without purpose or direction. We wandered aimlessly round Venice. |
aside | Placed or kept separate and distinct as for a purpose. Shakespeare s use of asides and soliloquies. |
astray | Far from the intended target. A bullet went astray and killed a bystander. |
away | An away match or win. In front of them the land fell away to the river. |
cast | Make a moulded object by casting metal. She had a somewhat masculine cast of countenance. |
derail | Cause (a train or tram) to leave its tracks accidentally. The plot is seen by some as an attempt to derail the negotiations. |
derailment | An accident in which a train runs off its track. The derailment of the peace process. |
deviate | A person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior. The whole affair offers revealing insights into attitudes towards sexual deviates. |
digress | Leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing. Don t digress when you give a lecture. |
digressive | Characterized by digression; tending to depart from the subject. A digressive account. |
discursive | Tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects. Students often write dull second hand discursive prose. |
dislodge | Change place or direction. Government opponents failed to dislodge the Prime Minister. |
divagation | A message that departs from the main subject. |
drift | Move in an unhurried fashion. Snow drifting several feet high. |
err | To make a mistake or be incorrect. He has erred and strayed as many of us have. |
excursive | Tending to deviate from a course or activity; digressive. His excursive remarks. |
gad | Wander aimlessly in search of pleasure. He had heard that I was gadding about with an airline stewardess. |
isolated | Remote and separate physically or socially. Little isolated worlds as abruptly disjunct and unexpected as a palm shaded well in the Sahara. |
nomadic | Living the life of a nomad; wandering. The nomadic habits of the Bedouins. |
ramble | Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment. Willy rambled on about Norman archways. |
rambling | (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential. A rambling six hour speech. |
resonate | Sound with resonance. The judge s ruling resonated among many of the women. |
roam | (of a person’s mind or thoughts) drift along without dwelling on anything in particular. He let his eyes roam her face. |
rove | Travel constantly without a fixed destination; wander. The policeman s eyes roved around the pub. |
scrappy | Full of fighting spirit. He had a scrappy New York temperament. |
sidetrack | A minor path or track. The horse took a sidetrack which led uphill. |
vagabond | Anything that resembles a vagabond in having no fixed place. Pirate ships were vagabonds of the sea. |
wander | An act or instance of wandering. Sometimes the gout wanders through the entire body. |
wandering | Travelling aimlessly from place to place; itinerant. Wandering tribes. |
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