queer

[ kweer ]
/ kwɪər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR queer ON THESAURUS.COM

usage alert about queer

Since the early 20th century, queer has had the meaning “gay or lesbian,” and for much of the time has been used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. Since the 1980s, queer has increasingly been adopted especially among younger members of the gay and lesbian community as a positive term of self-reference. However, the term is not universally accepted within the LGBT community, and might still be viewed by some as degrading. Queer is also a term used by activists and academics: queer politics; scholars of queer literature. And the term has more recently come to include any person whose sexuality or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary. A person identifying as queer can be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender-fluid, etc., but the use of queer avoids any specific label.

adjective, queer·er, queer·est.

verb (used with object)

noun

Slang.
  1. Disparaging and Offensive. a term used to refer to a a person who is gay or lesbian.
  2. a person whose sexual orientation or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary.
Slang. counterfeit money.

Idioms for queer

    queer the pitch, British Informal. to spoil the chances of success.

Origin of queer

1500–10; perhaps < German quer oblique, cross, adverse

OTHER WORDS FROM queer

queer·ly, adverb queer·ness, noun

Words nearby queer

queensland lungfish, queensland nut, queenslander, queenstown, queensware, queer, queer fish, queer street, queer-bashing, queersplain, quelea

Words related to queerness

eccentricity, trait, idiosyncrasy, quirk, phenomenon, characteristic, incongruity, rarity, peculiarity, curiosity, anomaly, irregularity, foible, distinctiveness, particularity, weirdness, habit, pose, trick, pretension

British Dictionary definitions for queerness

queer
/ (kwɪə) /

adjective

noun

informal, taboo a homosexual, usually a male

verb (tr) informal

to spoil or thwart (esp in the phrase queer someone's pitch)
to put in a difficult or dangerous position

Derived forms of queer

queerish, adjective queerly, adverb queerness, noun

Word Origin for queer

C16: perhaps from German quer oblique, ultimately from Old High German twērh

usage for queer

Although the term queer meaning homosexual is still considered highly offensive when used by non-homosexuals, it is often used by homosexuals themselves as a positive term, as in queer politics, queer cinema