May we count your visit with Google Analytics? It uses cookies and sends visit data to Google. You can change this any time under Cookie choices. Privacy

 Browse the A to Z list

Unconventional

adj. capable, energetic professional

What it means

Departing from customary practice in a deliberate or inventive way.

Reach for it when praising an approach that breaks convention and works for the situation

Their unconventional classroom replaced desks with workbenches and a neighborhood repair queue.

Words to choose between 8

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom. Tap a word to see when it fits.
playful
everyday
professional
formal
literary

  • playful

    maverick

    Fits when independent refusal to follow the group defines a person

    Careful Maverick can imply poor teamwork or rule-breaking for its own sake.

  • playful

    offbeat

    Fits when quirky charm is part of the appeal

    Careful Offbeat trivializes a serious alternative method or social reform.

  • everyday

    creative

    Fits when imagination and resourcefulness deserve emphasis

    Careful Imagination alone may stay inside the usual method.

  • everyday

    original

    Fits when the idea is recognizably the person's own

    Careful Original work may still follow conventional form.

  • professional

    innovative

    Fits when the new approach creates practical value

    Careful Unconventional only says a norm was broken; innovative additionally claims useful novelty.

  • professional

    nontraditional

    Fits when neutral contrast with a standard path is needed

    Careful Nontraditional is descriptive and less complimentary than unconventional in a praise sentence.

  • formal

    unorthodox

    Fits when established doctrine or accepted method is being challenged

    Careful Unorthodox sounds more disapproving and can imply risk.

  • literary

    avant-garde

    Fits when experimental artistic work leads a movement

    Careful Avant-garde is tied to art and culture, not routine operational ingenuity.

Opposites 3

  • conventional
  • traditional
  • orthodox

Common phrases 3

  • unconventional approach

    An unconventional approach paired retired mechanics with robotics students.

  • unconventional thinker

    The unconventional thinker tested discarded ideas instead of merely rejecting consensus.

  • highly unconventional

    The highly unconventional schedule worked because families helped design it.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated