What does "queer" mean?
A person who is or appears homosexual, or who has homosexual qualities.
Queer
/kwɪə/ adj, adv, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who is or appears homosexual, or who has homosexual qualities.
- Grammar: queer is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: odd, peculiar, abnormal, absurd.
- Useful contrasts: cisgender, cishet majority, confirm.
- Usage evidence: He had a queer expression on his face.
How to use "queer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "queer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "queer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "queer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "queer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "queer" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "odd" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "queer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who is or appears homosexual, or who has homosexual qualities. colloquial, derogatory, sometimes
"Now that the first flush of this catastrophe and grief is passed, I write to tell you that it is a judgement on the whole lot of you. Montgomerys, The Snob Queers like [the Earl of] Rosebery & certainly Christian hypocrite [William Ewart] Gladstone [...]"
- 2 offensive term for a homosexual man wordnet
- 3 A person of any non-heterosexual sexuality or sexual identity. colloquial, derogatory, sometimes
- 4 A person of any genderqueer identity. colloquial, derogatory, sometimes
"Gentrification often starts with the artists, revolutionaries, freaks, transfolks, and queers (what I would call my people) moving into poor neighborhoods inhabited by people of color."
- 5 Counterfeit money. archaic, informal, with-definite-article
"You're shoving the queer."
Verb
- 1 To render an endeavor or agreement ineffective or null. dated, transitive
"I was a lot more apt to queer it than help it."
- 2 put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position wordnet
- 3 To puzzle. UK, dated, dialectal
""But lor-a-mussy, Jacob, how could a woman get away from here with all her boxes in the middle of the night?" "That's what queered me," and Spink slowly shook his head, "and queered a good many; for of course it got newsed about […]""
- 4 hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of wordnet
- 5 To ridicule; to banter; to rally. dated, slang
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To spoil the effect or success of, as by ridicule; to throw a wet blanket on; to spoil. dated, slang
""Food is what queered the party. We ordered a big supper to be sent up to the room about two o'clock. Alec didn't give the waiter a tip, so I guess the little bastard snitched.""
- 7 To reevaluate or reinterpret (a work) with an eye to sexual orientation and/or to gender, as by applying queer theory.
"If I go, for instance, to the history of the church in Latin America, and decide to queer the history of the Jesuitic Missions, I may find that, in many ways, the missions were more sexual than Christian."
- 8 To make a work more appealing or attractive to LGBT people, such as by not having strict genders for playable characters. neologism, slang
Adjective
- 1 Homosexual. colloquial, derogatory, sometimes
"“Such a Momma’s boy.” The old men had started up again—or perhaps they had never stopped. “No matter who he schtupped. Even Marilyn. I wouldn’t be surprised he was queer.” / “Strange, yes. Weird, yes. Queer, I don’t think.”"
- 2 Of or relating to the culture surrounding queer people. US, not-comparable
- 3 Non-heterosexual or non-cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc. colloquial, derogatory, sometimes
- 4 Pertaining to sexual or gender behaviour or identity which does not conform to conventional heterosexual or cisgender norms, assumptions etc. broadly
"the queer community"
- 5 Strange, odd, or different; whimsical. dated
"An old long-faced, long-bodied servant, gave a queer look"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Slightly unwell. British, dated, informal
"I felt queer after eating those shrimp."
- 7 Drunk. British, dated, slang
Adjective
- 1 beyond or deviating from the usual or expected wordnet
- 2 homosexual or arousing homosexual desires wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Queerly. not-comparable, usually
- 2 Very, extremely. Ireland, not-comparable, usually
"Twas a queer bachram in the pub that night!"
Antonyms
Example
"He had a queer expression on his face."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "queer"?
Common synonyms include: odd, peculiar, abnormal, absurd, ac-dc, affected.
How do you use "queer" in a sentence?
He had a queer expression on his face.
How do you pronounce "queer"?
Pronounced /kwɪə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Attested since about 1510, at first in Scots. Usually taken to be from Middle Low German (Brunswick dialect) queer (“oblique, off-center”) or the related German quer (“diagonal”), from Old Saxon thwerh, from Proto-West Germanic *þwerh, from Proto-Germanic *þwerhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to turn, twist, wind”); compare Latin torqueō, and see more at thwart. The OED argues against this due to the semantic differences and the date at which the word appears in Scots. Began to be used to describe gay people in the late 1800s, see usage notes for more.
Etymology 2
From queer.