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.
Horton was known as the more outgoing and gregarious of the pair, but both sisters were described as being inquisitive, opinionated, fiercely loyal and competitive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Vice President JD Vance told the mourners Graham was an affable, gregarious politician who would slap Senate colleagues on the back and had a passion for engaging opponents in "swashbuckling" debate.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The former Manchester mayor comes off as a gregarious, upbeat fellow with an admittedly nerdy overlay.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
They share a love of books, and soon the shy Dick has blossomed into a gregarious, popular kid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Raw and emotional, disinclined toward introspection, he had the kind of gregarious, magnetic personality that instantly won him friends for life; hundreds of individuals—including some he’d met just once or twice—considered him a bosom buddy.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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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.
