queer

/kwɪər/

/kwɪə/

Other forms: queerest; queerer; queered; queers; queering

The adjective queer means "unusual" or "peculiar," or sometimes "suspicious." The main character in a creepy novel might decide to investigate the queer noises she hears coming from the attic in the middle of the night. Uh oh.

Like many words, queer has many meanings. One is "odd," as in "I feel kind of queer today." In the 20th century, queer also began to be used as a slur for members of the LGBT community; although use of the word is still controversial today, it has been widely reclaimed as a positive or neutral term. Many universities have Queer Studies programs, for instance. As a verb, queer can mean "to endanger or expose to risk", and also "to hinder, thwart, foil, or baffle."

Definitions of queer

1. adjective

   beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
   “something definitely queer about this town”

   synonyms: curious, funny, odd, peculiar, rum, rummy, singular

   strange, unusual

   being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
2. adjective

   sexually attracted to members of your own sex
   synonyms: homosexual

   gay

   homosexual or arousing homosexual desires

   lesbian, sapphic

   of or relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between woman
3. verb

   hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
   synonyms: baffle, bilk, confound, cross, foil, frustrate, scotch, scuttle, spoil, thwart

   types:

   disappoint, let down

   fail to meet the hopes or expectations of

   dash

   destroy or break

   short-circuit

   hamper the progress of; impede

   ruin

   destroy or cause to fail

   betray, fail

   disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake

   come short, fall short

   fail to meet (expectations or standards)

   disenchant, disillusion

   free from enchantment

   undo

   cause the ruin or downfall of

   break

   cause the failure or ruin of

   shipwreck

   ruin utterly

   type of:

   forbid, foreclose, forestall, preclude, preempt, prevent

   keep from happening or arising; make impossible
4. verb

   put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
   synonyms: endanger, expose, peril, scupper

   types:

   compromise

   expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute

   type of:

   affect, bear on, bear upon, impact, touch, touch on

   have an effect upon