gay
Noun · AdjectiveUS[gey]/ɡeɪ/1 syllable
Open English WordNet
Adjective (6)gayer, gayest
- bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer“a cheery hello”“a gay sunny room”“a sunny smile”Synonyms: cheerysunnyOpposite cheerlessSimilar cheerful
- full of or showing high-spirited merriment“when hearts were young and gay”“a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company — Wordsworth”“the jolly crowd at the reunion”“jolly old Saint Nick”“a jovial old gentleman”“have a merry Christmas”“peals of merry laughter”“a mirthful laugh”Synonyms: jocundjollyjovialmerrymirthfulOpposite joylessSimilar joyous
- given to social pleasures often including dissipation“led a gay Bohemian life”“a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies”Opposite nonindulgentSimilar indulgent
- brightly colored and showy“girls decked out in brave new dresses”“brave banners flying”“‘braw’ is a Scottish word”“a dress a bit too gay for her years”“birds with gay plumage”Synonyms: bravebrawOpposite colorless, colourlessSimilar colorful, colourful
- offering fun and gaiety“a festive (or festal) occasion”“gay and exciting night life”“a merry evening”Synonyms: festalfestivemerryOpposite joylessSimilar joyous
- homosexual or arousing homosexual desiresSynonyms: queerhomophileOpposite bisexual, heterosexualSimilar homosexual
Noun (1)gays
- someone who is sexually attracted to persons of the same sexSynonyms: homosexualhomophilehomoType of person, individualKinds gay man, closet queen, lesbian
Word of the day · Nov 9About this word
inexorableadjective
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Translations
Noun homosexual person, especially male
- Spanish
- gay
- French
- gay
- German
- Schwuler
- Italian
- gay
- Portuguese
- gay
- Turkish
- gey
- Russian
- гей gej
- Arabic
- مثلي miṯliyy
- Chinese
- 同性恋者 tóngxìngliànzhě
- Japanese
- ゲイ gei
28 more languages
- Dutch
- homo
- Polish
- gej
- Swedish
- bög
- Greek
- ομοφυλόφιλος omofylófilos
- Korean
- 게이 gei
- Indonesian
- gay
- Hungarian
- meleg
- Portuguese (PT)
- gay
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 同性戀者 tóngxìngliànzhě
- Albanian
- homoseksual
- Catalan
- gai
- Czech
- gay
- Danish
- bøsse
- Esperanto
- gejo
- Estonian
- gei
- Finnish
- homo
- Georgian
- გეი gei
- Hebrew
- הוֹמוֹ hómo
- Icelandic
- hommi
- Latvian
- gejs
- Lithuanian
- homoseksualas
- Norwegian
- homo
- Romanian
- homosexual
- Scottish Gaelic
- gèidh
- Serbo-Croatian
- gej
- Slovenian
- gej
- Swahili
- shoga
- Welsh
- hoyw
Adjective homosexual
- Spanish
- gay
- French
- gay
- German
- schwul
- Italian
- gay
- Portuguese
- gay
- Turkish
- homoseksüel
- Russian
- гомосексуа́льный gomoseksuálʹnyj
- Japanese
- ゲイ gei
- Dutch
- homoseksueel
- Swedish
- bög
21 more languages
- Greek
- ομοφυλόφιλος omofylófilos
- Korean
- 게이 gei
- Indonesian
- gay
- Vietnamese
- đồng tính
- Hungarian
- meleg
- Portuguese (PT)
- gay
- Catalan
- gai
- Danish
- bøsse
- Esperanto
- geja
- Estonian
- gei
- Finnish
- homo
- Georgian
- გეი gei
- Hebrew
- גֵּאֶה ge'é
- Icelandic
- hommi
- Latvian
- gejs
- Lithuanian
- gėjus
- Norwegian
- homo
- Romanian
- gay
- Scottish Gaelic
- co-sheòrsach
- Slovenian
- gej
- Welsh
- hoyw
Adjective happy, joyful and lively
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Gay (gā), adjective [Compar. Gayer; superlative Gayest.]
Origin: F. gai, perhaps fr. OHG. g…hi swift, rapid, G. gäh, jäh, steep, hasty; or cf. OHG. w…hi beatiful, good. Cf. Jay.
1. Excited with merriment; manifesting sportiveness or delight; inspiring delight; livery; merry.
Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay.— Alexander Pope
Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed.— Asa Gray
2. Brilliant in colors; splendid; fine; richly dressed.
Why is my neighbor's wife so gay?— Geoffrey Chaucer
A bevy of fair women, richly gay In gems and wanton dress!— John Milton
3. Loose; dissipated; lewd. colloquial
Synonyms: Merry; gleeful; blithe; airy; lively; sprightly, sportive; light-hearted; frolicsome; jolly; jovial; joyous; joyful; glad; showy; splendid; vivacious.
Gay noun
An ornament obsolete Sir Roger L'Estrange
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54