What does queer mean?

queer means "hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in queer?

queer has 1 syllable: queer. In IPA it is /ˈkwɪɹ/.

What is another word for queer?

Close synonyms include thwart, spoil, scotch, foil, cross. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is queer a common word?

queer is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

queer — meaning, pronunciation and 5 definitions

verb

2 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
“What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge”
“foil your opponent”
Synonymsthwart spoil scotch foil cross frustrate baffle bilk
Broaderprevent
Narrowerdisappoint dash short-circuit ruin
2.
put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
Synonymsexpose scupper endanger peril
Broaderaffect
Narrowercompromise

adjective

2 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
“a curious hybrid accent”
“her speech has a funny twang”
“they have some funny ideas about war”
“had an odd name”
“the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves”
“something definitely queer about this town”
“what a rum fellow”
“singular behavior”
Synonymscurious funny odd peculiar rum rummy singular
Similarstrange
2.
homosexual or arousing homosexual desires
Synonymsgay homophile
Similarhomosexual

noun

1 senseA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
offensive term for a homosexual man
Synonymsfagot faggot fag fairy nance pansy queen poof poove pouf
Broaderhomosexual
disparagement

Other forms of queer

plural: queers·
past tense: queered·
present participle: queering·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about queer

What does queer mean?: queer means "hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in queer?: queer has 1 syllable: queer. In IPA it is /ˈkwɪɹ/.
What is another word for queer?: Close synonyms include thwart, spoil, scotch, foil, cross. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is queer a common word?: queer is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for queer come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

verb

2 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
“What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge”
“foil your opponent”
Synonymsthwart spoil scotch foil cross frustrate baffle bilk
Broaderprevent
Narrowerdisappoint dash short-circuit ruin
2.
put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
Synonymsexpose scupper endanger peril
Broaderaffect
Narrowercompromise

adjective

2 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
“a curious hybrid accent”
“her speech has a funny twang”
“they have some funny ideas about war”
“had an odd name”
“the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves”
“something definitely queer about this town”
“what a rum fellow”
“singular behavior”
Synonymscurious funny odd peculiar rum rummy singular
Similarstrange
2.
homosexual or arousing homosexual desires
Synonymsgay homophile
Similarhomosexual

noun

1 senseA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
offensive term for a homosexual man
Synonymsfagot faggot fag fairy nance pansy queen poof poove pouf
Broaderhomosexual
disparagement

Other forms of queer

plural: queers·
past tense: queered·
present participle: queering·

Questions about queer

What does queer mean?: queer means "hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in queer?: queer has 1 syllable: queer. In IPA it is /ˈkwɪɹ/.
What is another word for queer?: Close synonyms include thwart, spoil, scotch, foil, cross. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is queer a common word?: queer is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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queer

verb

adjective

noun

Other forms of queer

Questions about queer

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

Tool directories

Search

Jump to

Explore AltFTool

Help

Theme

queer

verb

adjective

noun

Other forms of queer

Questions about queer