queer

Meaning

Adj

1. Weird, odd, or different; whimsical.
2. (informal) Slightly unwell (mainly in "to feel queer").
3. (slang) Drunk.
4. (colloquial) Homosexual.
5. (colloquial) Non-heterosexual or non-cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc.
6. Pertaining to sexual or gender behaviour or identity which does not conform to conventional heterosexual or cisgender norms, assumptions etc.

Noun

1. (colloquial) A person who is or appears homosexual, or who has homosexual qualities.
2. (colloquial) A person of any non-heterosexual sexuality or sexual identity.
3. (colloquial) A person of any genderqueer identity.
4. (informal) Counterfeit money.

Verb

1. To render an endeavor or agreement ineffective or null.
2. To puzzle.
3. (slang) To ridicule; to banter; to rally.
4. (slang) To spoil the effect or success of, as by ridicule; to throw a wet blanket on; to spoil.
5. To reevaluate or reinterpret (a work) with an eye to sexual orientation and/or to gender, as by applying queer theory.
6. (slang) To make a work more appealing or attractive to LGBT people, such as by not having strict genders for playable characters.

Adv

1. Queerly.
2. Very, extremely.

Synonyms

strange

odd

weird

peculiar

eccentric

bizarre

curious

fairy

🧚

quaint

gay

unusual

fag

funny

😄

faggot

homosexual

poof

fagot

abnormal

queen

👸

fantastic

pansy

homo

uncommon

poofter

suspicious

thwart

grotesque

baffle

frustrate

extraordinary

bilk

spoil

scotch

foil

rum

be strange

cross

pederast

raver

singular

unconventional

outlandish

nancy boy

kinky

entertaining

banana crammer

enjoyable

sportive

endanger

sodomite

homophile

cheering

wacky

scupper

bugger

nance

nancy

comical

rummy

hilarious

eerie

amusing

giddy

freakish

pouf

poove

peril

pleasure

particular

expose

exceptional

invert

shut

sickish

singularly

sissy

sod

spicy

stylish

stymie

stymy

suspect

tasty

trammel

transvestite

unbelievable

unconventionally

uneven

unordinary

stop

🛑

unwell

whimsical

witty

wonderful

zany

drag queen

effeminate man

very strange

forefend

be odd

lesbien

shirtlifter

different from others

weird thing

faget

untoward

absurd

antic

arrest

avert

bar

block

blockade

block out

block up

cadging

capricious

case

check

chic

comedic

counterfeit

cramp

cranky

crotchety

debar

deflect

desultory

deter

difficult

doubtful

drunk

dubious

eccentrically

effeminate

embarrass

faint

fantastical

fishy

forbid

forestall

forfend

formidable

freak

head off

help

hinder

hocus-pocus

impede

incapacitate

indisposed

inhibit

insane

interesting

intricate

laughable

lesbian

ludicrous

mad

mumbo jumbo

mysterious

nondescript

nonsensical

obstruct

obviate

oddish

original

preposterous

prevent

puff

quaintly

queerly

questionable

quirky

quizzical

restrain

romantic

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kwɪɹ/

Etymology

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.