Gay
Synonyms for gay
adj happy
keen
sparkling
alert
wild
forward
jolly
glad
animate
animated
blithe
brash
carefree
cheerful
cheery
chipper
confident
convivial
devil-may-care
festive
frivolous
frolicsome
gleeful
hilarious
insouciant
jocund
jovial
joyful
joyous
lighthearted
lively
merry
mirthful
playful
presuming
pushy
rollicking
self-assertive
spirited
sportive
sprightly
sunny
vivacious
zippy
blithesome
bouncy
chirpy
fun-loving
gamesome
pleasure-seeking
Antonyms for gay
discouraged
upset
worried
dull
sad
unhappy
depressed
colorless
lifeless
plain
uncolorful
Synonyms
adj colorful, vivid
gaudy
brave
rich
flamboyant
bright
brilliant
flashy
fresh
garish
intense
showy
Antonyms
discouraged
upset
worried
calm
modest
depressed
sad
unhappy
colorless
dull
lifeless
plain
uncolorful
Synonyms
adj homosexual
lesbian
homophile
Sapphic
homoerotic
queer
Antonyms
straight
heterosexual
Usage Notes
The meaning “homosexual” for the word gay has become so prevalent that people hesitate to use the term in its original senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy.” But the word’s association with sexuality is not new. The word gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual world included homosexuals too, and gay as an adjective meaning “homosexual” goes back at least to the late 1930s. After World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, gay was applied openly by homosexuals to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. It is no longer considered slang. Today, the noun often designates only a male homosexual and is usually used as a collective plural: gays and lesbians . Usage as a singular noun is uncommon and is sometimes perceived as insulting: He came out as a gay. In contrast, gay in the sense “awkward, stupid, or bad” is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting to gay people. Though some have argued that this sense is independent of the “homosexual” sense, and therefore not homophobic, the argument is weakened by the fact that “homosexual” has long been the dominant meaning of gay, and thus permeates its other usages. See also homosexual.
Read Also:
- Gay dog
Synonyms for gay dog noun philanderer rake killer philanderer cat player wolf womanizer operator sport speed lady-killer tomcat swinger rounder chaser heavy hitter lover boy make-out artist night owl pleasure seeker whorehound ladies’ man Antonyms for gay dog playgirl
- Gay dogs
Synonyms for gay dogs noun philanderer rake killer philanderer cat player wolf womanizer operator sport speed lady-killer tomcat swinger rounder chaser gay dog heavy hitter lover boy make-out artist night owl pleasure seeker whorehound ladies’ man Antonyms for gay dogs playgirl
- Gayeties
Synonyms for gayeties noun liveliness energy enthusiasm gusto life verve vigor zeal animation brilliance brio dash fire sparkle sprightliness Antonyms for gayeties listlessness
- Gayety
Synonyms for gayety noun liveliness energy enthusiasm gusto life verve vigor zeal animation brilliance brio dash fire sparkle sprightliness Antonyms for gayety listlessness
- Gaze
Synonyms for gaze noun long, fixed stare peek look watching gun scrutiny survey peep glaring seeing rubbernecking looking ogling fish eye Antonyms for gaze ignorance Synonyms verb stare at rubberneck glare gape pin see ogle bore wonder pipe eye moon rubber lamp peek regard inspect watch gawk contemplate observe gloat peer peep look beam scrutinize […]