gregarious
American
adjective
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enjoying the company of others
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(of animals) living together in herds or flocks Compare solitary
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(of plants) growing close together but not in dense clusters
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of, relating to, or characteristic of crowds or communities
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gregarious
First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin gregārius “belonging to a flock,” from greg- (stem of grex ) “crowd, flock, herd” + -ārius -ary ( def. )
Explanation
If you know someone who's outgoing, sociable, and fond of the company of others, you might want to call her gregarious. The word was originally used to describe animals that live in flocks — it's from the Latin word grex, meaning "herd." Not surprisingly, people began using it to describe humans who liked being in groups. Today biologists still speak of gregarious species, but you're more likely to hear it in reference to people. Despite what you might suspect, it has no historical connection to the name Gregory — but if you know an outgoing fellow with that name, you could call him Greg-arious.
Vocabulary lists containing gregarious
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It described him as "obliging and gregarious" and stated there was no evidence he had extremist views.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
His premiership coincided with the presidency of Jiang Zemin, the gregarious, bespectacled economic reformer who died in 2022.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The former Manchester mayor comes off as a gregarious, upbeat fellow with an admittedly nerdy overlay.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
The extravagant gesture of its shape is undercut by its refusal to give us any great room, any place of gregarious gathering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
He who was too gregarious, who spoke too much and too ardently desired the company of others, their conversation and their laughter, did not have what life required.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
