gregarious

[ gri-gair-ee-uhs ]

/ grɪˈgɛər i əs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gregarious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

fond of the company of others; sociable.

living in flocks or herds, as animals.

Botany. growing in open clusters or colonies; not matted together.

pertaining to a flock or crowd.

Nearby words

Origin of gregarious

1660–70; < Latin gregārius belonging to a flock, equivalent to greg- (stem of grex) flock + -ārius -ary

SYNONYMS FOR gregarious

1 social, genial, outgoing, convivial, companionable, friendly, extroverted.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gregarious ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

gre·gar·i·ous·ly, adverbgre·gar·i·ous·ness, nounnon·gre·gar·i·ous, adjectivenon·gre·gar·i·ous·ly, adverb

non·gre·gar·i·ous·ness, nounun·gre·gar·i·ous, adjectiveun·gre·gar·i·ous·ly, adverbun·gre·gar·i·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gregarious

Alexander is everything Turing is not—gregarious, flirty, and, you guessed it, charming.
From ‘The Good Wife’ to ‘The Imitation Game’: Matthew Goode Wages His Charm Offensive|Kevin Fallon|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Onscreen, Teller is a bit like a young Vince Vaughn—gregarious, charming, and a tad suspicious.
Miles Teller’s Movie Star Moment: From the Brink of Death to ‘Whiplash’|Marlow Stern|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In person, Reiner is gregarious and very chatty, regaling you with great anecdotes from his back catalogue.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red Viper|Marlow Stern|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was gregarious and sociable, enjoying the company of entourages whenever he went to Cannes or some other film festival.
My Friend, Roger Ebert: Pulitzer Prize Winner Tom Shales on the Moving Documentary ‘Life Itself’|Tom Shales|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The gregarious pair met while studying at Kingston University in England; they self-initiated the project while still students.
The A-Z Dictionary of Google Images—For the Moment|Sarah Moroz|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Americans are as gregarious as school-boys, and think it an incivility to leave you by yourself.
Diary in America, Series One|Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)
There is little good to be got from your vague, gregarious natures, liking or disliking merely because others like or dislike.
Hortus Vitae|Violet Paget, AKA Vernon Lee
Gregarious groupings of cockroaches have been observed most frequently among the domiciliary species.
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches|Louis M. Roth
Crows are a gregarious race with settled habitations and an organized commonwealth.
The Crock of Gold|James Stephens
They are gregarious in habit and frequently occur in immense numbers together.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects|C. V. Riley

British Dictionary definitions for gregarious

gregarious

/ (ɡrɪˈɡɛərɪəs) /

adjective

enjoying the company of others

(of animals) living together in herds or flocksCompare solitary (def. 6)

(of plants) growing close together but not in dense clusters

of, relating to, or characteristic of crowds or communities

Derived Formsgregariously, adverbgregariousness, noun

Word Origin for gregarious

C17: from Latin gregārius belonging to a flock, from grex flock

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gregarious

gregarious

adj.

1660s, "living in flocks" (of animals), from Latin gregarius "pertaining to a flock; of the herd, of the common sort, common," from grex (genitive gregis) "flock, herd," reduplication of PIE root *ger- "to gather together, assemble" (cf. Greek ageirein "to assemble," agora "assembly;" Old Church Slavonic grusti "handful;" Lithuanian gurgulys "chaos, confusion," gurguole "crowd, mass"). Sense of "sociable" first recorded 1789. Related: Gregariously; gregariousness.