STRAY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for STRAY?

Need another word that means the same as “stray”? Find 37 synonyms and 30 related words for “stray” in this overview.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.