stranger
[noun]
Synonyms: newcomer, alien, foreigner, guest, incomer, outlander, visitor

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Contrasted words: inhabitant, resident, aboriginal, aborigine, autochthon, indigene, native
Related Idioms: stranger within the gates
Related Words: out-of-stater, outstater, transient, visitor, immigrant, wanderer

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

strang‧er S2 W2 /ˈstreɪndʒə $ -ər/ noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: stranger, strangeness, estrangement; adjective: strange, estranged; adverb: strangely]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: estrangier, from estrange; ⇒ strange¹]

1. someone that you do not know:
Children must not talk to strangers.
perfect/complete/total stranger (=used to emphasize that you do not know them)
Julie finds it easy to speak to complete strangers.
► Do not use stranger to mean ‘a person from another country’. Use foreigner or, more politely, say that someone is from abroad/overseas.

2. be no stranger to something to have had a lot of a particular kind of experience:
a politician who is no stranger to controversy

3. someone in a new and unfamiliar place:
‘Where’s the station?’ ‘Sorry, I’m a stranger here myself.’

4. hello, stranger! spoken used to greet someone who you have not seen for a long time

5. don’t be a stranger! spoken used when someone is leaving to invite them back to see you soon

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

stranger
noun
ADJ. complete, perfect, total | virtual | passing
PREP. ~ to He was a complete stranger to me. She was a stranger to the place
PHRASES almost a stranger His years abroad had made him almost a stranger with his family.
a stranger here You're a stranger here, aren't you?
a stranger in/to these parts A stranger to these parts would be confused by some of the local customs.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

stranger

a complete/perfect/total stranger (=used to emphasize that you do not know the person)
Really, I don't know why I'm revealing all this to a complete stranger.
a virtual stranger (=someone you hardly know)
I hadn't seen him for so long that he seemed like a virtual stranger.
a passing stranger (=one you pass in the street)
Do not give your camera to a passing stranger and ask him to take a picture of you.
a mysterious stranger
She never knew who the mysterious stranger was who had helped her that night.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

stranger
noun
BAD: There are a lot of strangers visiting England.
GOOD: There are a lot of foreigners visiting England.

Usage Note:
stranger = a person you have never met before: 'Although he was a total stranger, he started asking me for money!'
foreigner = a person from another country: 'Foreigners need a visa to enter the country.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲