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Gender & Sexuality dictionary results for queer.

queer

American  

[kweer] / kwɪər /

adjective

queerer, comparative queerest superlative

1. strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular.

   The court has a queer notion of justice.

   Synonyms:

   weird, eccentric, freakish, curious, unconventional

   Antonyms:

   ordinary

2. 1. Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. (of a person) gay or lesbian.

   2. noting or relating to a sexual orientation or gender identity that falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary.

3. of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady.

   Something queer about the language of the prospectus kept investors away.

4. not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish.

   If you feel queer, you should lie down for a bit.

5. mentally unbalanced or deranged.

6. Slang. bad, worthless, or counterfeit.

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verb (used with object)

1. to spoil; ruin.

2. to put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favor, etc.

3. to jeopardize.

4. to interpret, analyze, or reconstruct (a narrative) based on the perspectives of people whose experiences fall outside normative ideas of gender and sexuality, especially in academic research and criticism: Her pioneering research queered the portrayal of medical professionals by emphasizing the work of LGBTQ+ doctors.

   This film queers the Western genre by introducing a transgender lead.

   Her pioneering research queered the portrayal of medical professionals by emphasizing the work of LGBTQ+ doctors.

noun

queers plural

1. Often Disparaging and Offensive. (The noun “a queer” is often used with disparaging intent and considered offensive even among those who approve of the corresponding adjective “queer.” The plural “queers” is less likely to offend than the singular “a queer.”)

   1. a gay or lesbian person.

   2. a person whose sexual orientation or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary.

2. Slang. counterfeit money.

idioms

1. queer the pitch, to spoil the chances of success.

queer British  

/ kwɪə /

adjective

1. differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange

2. suspicious, dubious, or shady

3. faint, giddy, or queasy

4. informal homosexual

5. informal odd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad

6. slang worthless or counterfeit

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noun

1. informal a homosexual, usually a male

verb

1. to spoil or thwart (esp in the phrase queer someone's pitch )

2. to put in a difficult or dangerous position

Sensitive Note

Historically, queer has meant “strange” in a way that departs from convention. Since the early 20th century, it has also had the meaning “gay or lesbian,” and for much of the time has been used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. Since the 1980s, queer has increasingly been adopted especially among younger members of the gay and lesbian community as a positive term of self-reference. However, the term is not universally accepted within the LGBT community, and might still be viewed by some as degrading. Queer is also a term used by activists and academics: queer politics; scholars of queer literature. The term has more recently come to include any person whose sexuality or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual norm or the gender binary. A person identifying as queer can be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, gender-fluid, etc., and the use of queer allows for the expression of LGBTQ community membership without requiring any specific label. More broadly, within academia, “to queer” can even refer to the act of interpreting a text using any non-normative or marginalized perspective. This sense plays with the dual meaning of queer as referring to people whose genders and sexualities have been marginalized, and as referring to something that is unusual or unconventional. In this sense, introducing the perspectives of people of color or people with disabilities would also be considered queering a text in literary or cultural criticism.

Usage

What does queer mean? While queer has historically meant "strange" or "odd," the word is more often used as a slur against—but also since reclaimed as a self-identifier—for non-heterosexual or non-cisgender people. Content warning: this article contains offensive and sensitive content.

Synonym Usage

See strange.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• queerness
  noun
• queerish
  adjective
• queerly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• queers
  plural

Adjectives

• queerer
  comparative
• queerest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of queer

First recorded in 1500–10; perhaps from German quer “oblique, cross, adverse”

Explanation

The adjective queer means "unusual" or "peculiar," or sometimes "suspicious." The main character in a creepy novel might decide to investigate the queer noises she hears coming from the attic in the middle of the night. Uh oh. Like many words, queer has many meanings. One is "odd," as in "I feel kind of queer today." In the 20th century, queer also began to be used as a slur for members of the LGBT community; although use of the word is still controversial today, it has been widely reclaimed as a positive or neutral term. Many universities have Queer Studies programs, for instance. As a verb, queer can mean "to endanger or expose to risk", and also "to hinder, thwart, foil, or baffle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

queer queers queerer queerest

But queer people have had this argument before.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

But queer clubs were never only about forgetting.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Wentworth, who describes himself as "queer and disabled", has recently had a series of urological problems.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

“I hope it’s been able to give that encouragement to the people in power to let there be more stories out there because we just need more, different kinds of queer stories.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

“You would be perfectly queer even if you never dated anyone ever.”

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

This ethos is encapsulated in one of her favorite posters, which declares: “Blessed are the queers cooking each other’s meals.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

Straights and queers, in other words, never get a clear view of each other through a flat lens.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2025

“To the queers, to the Latin, to the immigrants, this is for you,” said Lacorazza, a Colombian American filmmaker whose film is set in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

They were lesbians, gays, queers, and gender-nonconforming people who had been the target of homophobic and transphobic speech and violence.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2023

They do not want you there, my dears; The prospect of your "franchise" queers Wire-pullers' plans, and party reckoning— Hope, in male guise, stands blandly beckoning.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, August 22, 1891 by Various

With recent polls showing that about a quarter of Gen Z adults in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, it’s clear the future is queerer than ever.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

No wonder “Down With Love” has become something of a cult item, its meta-referential charms perhaps more apparent to a younger, queerer generation that better understands the role-playing nature of gender and romantic courtship.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2023

There were some people who would have identified at some point as more radical, more critical, or queerer in some way, and some of those people were still really actively struggling.

From Slate ● Jun. 21, 2019

The room for diversity, for queerer set-ups, non-conformity and community could be squeezed out by normativity.

From BBC ● May 1, 2016

Or as the biologist J. B. S. Haldane once famously observed: "The universe is not only queerer than we suppose; it is queerer than we can suppose."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

LGBTQ+ people did not simply reflect the queerest century as it happened around them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

Seattle is one of the queerest cities in America — more than one in 10 people identify as LGBTQ+, rivaling San Francisco, according to market research giant Nielsen.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2022

But having already been approached by fans of the show since her casting was announced, she's fully aware of how important the show is and describes its fans as "the nicest, queerest and queer-friendliest audience."

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2022

The queerness of the series won’t surprise longtime Chucky fans: “Child’s Play” may be the queerest of the big horror franchises.

From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2021

It was the queerest thing, but Marly actually got so excited about the goats and chickens that she forgot about telling Joe what she had come to tell.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen