stranger
Face you don't recognize
A stranger is someone you don't know.
The word emphasizes unfamiliarity rather than foreignness—a stranger might live next door if you've never met.
Don't talk to strangers warns children about unknown people.
I'm a stranger here myself means unfamiliar with a place.
A stranger to something lacks experience with it: He was no stranger to hardship.
The comparative adjective stranger means more strange: Truth is stranger than fiction.
Recent arrival somewhere
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- foreignerNon-native person
- alienNon-native being
- interloperOne who enters uninvited
intruder · gatecrasher · trespasser · uninvited · unwelcome · excluded · misfit · outcast
Short-term guest
- touristTraveler visiting attractions
- travelerOne who journeys
- wayfarerTraveler, especially walking
- sojournerOne dwelling temporarily
pilgrim · wanderer · drifter · vagabond · nomad · itinerant · transient · journeyer
Something hard to fathom
- unknownNot yet discovered
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
- crypticObscure in meaning
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
unreadable · secretive · mysterious · shadowy · obscure · veiled · hidden · unknowable
Not previously known
- unacquaintedNot knowing someone
- anonymousOf unknown origin
- namelessWithout any designation
- facelessLacking identity or features
unidentified · unrecognized · passerby · bystander · onlooker · someone · anyone · random
Indication of potential harm
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
- fearEmotional response to threat
- warinessCautious distrust
- cautionCareful attention to risk
distrust · mistrust · skepticism · vigilance · predator · abductor · stalker · creep
State of being severed
- isolationComplete separation from others
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- distanceSpace between two points
- coldnessLow temperature state
unfamiliarity · rift · separation · drifting · former · unrecognizable · changed · different
newcomer
Recent arrival somewhere
interloper · intruder · gatecrasher · trespasser · uninvited · unwelcome · excluded · misfit · outcast · pariah
visitor
Short-term guest
sojourner · pilgrim · wanderer · drifter · vagabond · nomad · itinerant · transient · journeyer · explorer
enigma
Something hard to fathom
inscrutable · unreadable · secretive · mysterious · shadowy · obscure · veiled · hidden · unknowable · impenetrable
unfamiliar
Not previously known
- unacquaintedNot knowing someone
- anonymousOf unknown origin
- namelessWithout any designation
faceless · unidentified · unrecognized · passerby · bystander · onlooker · someone · anyone · random · fleeting
threat
Indication of potential harm
caution · distrust · mistrust · skepticism · vigilance · predator · abductor · stalker · creep · lurker
disconnection
State of being severed
- isolationComplete separation from others
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- distanceSpace between two points
coldness · unfamiliarity · rift · separation · drifting · former · unrecognizable · changed · different · apart
strangerfriend
Non-kin mutual bond
close friend · best friend · acquaintance · intimate · confidant
- perfect strangerPerson completely unfamiliar to you
- stranger dangerCaution toward unknown individuals
- strange birdsUnusual flying creatures
- Doctor StrangeMarvel's magical medical practitioner
- Stranger ThingsEleven's supernatural series
- complete strangers
strange, strangely, strangers, strangeness, strangest, estranged, estrange, estrangement, estranges