Freak vs. Buff — What's the Difference?

A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase "freak of nature", itself a broader term attributed at least as far back as 1847.

A yellowish-beige colour

A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular

A stout dull yellow leather with a velvety surface.

An abnormally formed organism, especially one regarded as a curiosity.

A stick, wheel, or pad used for polishing.

A sudden capricious turn of mind; a whim

A person who is enthusiastically interested in and very knowledgeable about a particular subject

A drug user or addict

Polish (something)

An eccentric or nonconformist person, especially a member of a counterculture.

Make (an element in a role-playing or video game) more powerful

An enthusiast

(of a person or their body) in good physical shape with well-developed muscles

A fleck or streak of color.

A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.

Highly unusual or irregular

A military uniform coat made of such leather.

To experience or cause to experience frightening hallucinations or feelings of paranoia, especially as a result of taking a drug. Often used with out.

A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.

To behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably. Often used with out.

A piece of soft material, such as velvet or leather, often mounted on a block and used for polishing.

To become or cause to become greatly excited or upset. Often used with out.

One who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject

To speckle or streak with color

Made or formed of buff

(dated) A sudden change of mind

Of the color buff.

(dated) Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.

Buff·er, buff·est Slang Having good muscle tone; physically fit and trim

A hippie.

To polish or shine with a piece of soft material.

A drug addict.

To soften the surface of (leather) by raising a nap.

A person who is extremely abnormal in appearance due to a severe medical condition (originally, a freak of nature); later extended to meaning a person who is extremely abnormal in social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or business practices; an oddball, especially in physiology (e.g., "circus freak"); a unique person, originally in a displeasing or alienating way.

To make the color of buff.

(bodybuilding) A person whose physique has grown far beyond the normal limits of muscular development; often a bodybuilder weighing more than 260 pounds (117.934 kilos).

Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.

An enthusiast, or person who has an obsession with, or extreme knowledge of, something.

A tool, often one covered with buff leather, used for polishing.

A very sexually perverse individual.

(color) A brownish yellow colour.

(dated) A streak of colour; variegation.

A military coat made of buff leather.

Euphemistic form of fuck

(informal) A person who is very interested in a particular subject.

A man, particularly a bold, strong, vigorous man.

An effect that makes a character or item stronger.

A fellow; a petulant young man.

(rail transport) Compressive coupler force that occurs during a slack bunched condition.

To react extremely or irrationally, usually under distress or discomposure.

(colloquial) The bare skin.

To be placed or place someone under the influence of a psychedelic drug, (especially) to experience reality withdrawal, or hallucinations (nightmarish), to behave irrational or unconventional due to drug use.

The greyish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat.

To streak; to variegate

Any substance used to dilute (street) drugs in order to increase profits.

Strange, weird, unexpected.

(obsolete) A buffet; a blow.

To variegate; to checker; to streak.

(informal) A buffalo, or the meat of a buffalo.

To react with irrationality or extreme emotion; to lose one's composure; - often used in the phrase freak out.

(color) Of the color of buff leather, a brownish yellow.

To become irrational or to experience hallucinations under the influence of drugs; - often used in the phrase freak out.

(bodybuilding) Unusually muscular.

To cause (a person) react with great distress or extreme emotion; - often used in the phrase freak out.

(slang) Physically attractive.

A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice.

To polish and make shiny by rubbing.

A rare and unpredictable event; as, the July snowstorm was a freak of nature.

To make a character or an item stronger.

An habitual drug user, especially one who uses psychedelic drugs.

(medical slang) To modify a medical chart, especially in a dishonest manner.

An animal or person with a visible congenital abnormality; - applied especially to those who appear in a circus sideshow.

To strike.

A person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed

To stammer, stutter

Someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction;

A sort of leather, prepared from the skin of the buffalo, dressed with oil, like chamois; also, the skins of oxen, elks, and other animals, dressed in like manner.

Lose one's nerve;

The color of buff; a light yellow, shading toward pink, gray, or brown.

A military coat, made of buff leather.

A wheel covered with buff leather, and used in polishing cutlery, spoons, etc.

The bare skin; as, to strip to the buff.

A buffet; a blow; - obsolete except in the phrase "Blindman's buff." See blindman's buff.

Made of buff leather.

Of the color of buff.

Firm; sturdy.

To strike.

An ardent follower and admirer

A soft thick undyed leather from the skins of e.g. buffalo or oxen

Bare skin;

A medium to dark tan color

An implement consisting of soft material mounted on a block; used for polishing (as in manicuring)

Strike, beat repeatedly;

Polish and make shiny;

Of the color of buff leather