an individual that one is not acquainted with
"The stranger at the door asked if I could use their phone before leaving."
A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance.
"The stranger on the train looked around nervously before finding a seat near the window."
In plain English: A stranger is someone you do not know and have never met before.
"The stranger at the door asked me if I could help him find his way home."
To estrange; to alienate.
"The constant criticism began to stranger him from his own family, leaving them feeling distant and disconnected."
comparative form of strange: more strange
"The stranger that his behavior seemed, the less likely he was to be trusted by anyone in the village."
In plain English: Stranger means something that is unfamiliar, new, or unknown to you.
"The stranger faces in his paintings are often unsettling and mysterious."
Usage: The adjective form "stranger" functions as the comparative degree of "strange," meaning something that appears even less familiar or odd than before, though it is often replaced by "more strange." Avoid using this specific spelling when you simply mean unfamiliarity in a general sense; instead, use the noun phrase "a stranger" to describe an unknown person.
The word stranger comes from Old French estranz, meaning foreigner or outsider. It entered English around the mid-14th century to describe someone who is not known to you or belongs to a different place.