gregarious
[gri-gair-ee-uh s]
- 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.
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Origin of gregarious
1660–70; < Latin gregārius belonging to a flock, equivalent to greg- (stem of grex) flock + -ārius -ary
Synonyms
See more synonyms for gregarious on Thesaurus.com1. social, genial, outgoing, convivial, companionable, friendly, extroverted.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gregarious
Contemporary Examples
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 OffensiveKevin Fallon
November 24, 2014
Onscreen, Teller is a bit like a young Vince Vaughn—gregarious, charming, and a tad suspicious.
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 ViperMarlow Stern
July 27, 2014
He was gregarious and sociable, enjoying the company of entourages whenever he went to Cannes or some other film festival.
The gregarious pair met while studying at Kingston University in England; they self-initiated the project while still students.
Historical Examples
The Dublin people were gregarious and garrulous, and he was solitary and reflective.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
It is gregarious, often many stems growing from one mass of mycelium.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
Westray was of a gregarious temperament, and missed his fellow-lodger.
The Nebuly CoatJohn Meade Falkner
Gregarious: living in societies or communities; but not social.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
Like the fishes, moreover, they may be either solitary or gregarious.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)J. Arthur Thomson
gregarious
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper