queerness
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queer
(kwîr)adj. queer·er, queer·est
1.
a. Deviating from what is expected or normal; strange: "The light above his head made a queer reflection of himself in the glowing wineglass" (Carson McCullers).
b. Odd or unconventional, as in behavior; eccentric: "His mother is very queer, with witchy hair and mismatched shoes" (Caroline Preston).
c. Of a questionable nature or character; suspicious: thought there was something queer about his explanation.
2.
a. Offensive Slang Gay or lesbian.
b. Usage Problem Of or relating to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transgender people.
3. Feeling slightly ill, as in being dizzy or queasy.
n.
1. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a gay man or a lesbian.
2. Usage Problem A lesbian, gay male, bisexual, or transgender person.
tr.v. queered, queer·ing, queers Slang
To ruin or thwart: "might try to queer the Games with anything from troop movements ... to a bomb attack" (Newsweek).
[Perhaps from Low German, oblique, off-center, from Middle Low German dwer; see terkw- in Indo-European roots.]
queer′ish adj.
queer′ly adv.
queer′ness n.
Usage Note: A reclaimed word is a word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been semantically overturned by members of the maligned group, who use it as a term of defiant pride. Queer is an example of a word undergoing this process. For decades queer was used as a derogatory adjective for gays and lesbians, but in the 1980s the term began to be used by gay and lesbian activists as a term of self-identification. Eventually, it came to be used as an umbrella term that included gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold queer to be a hateful insult, and its use by heterosexuals is often considered offensive. Similarly, other reclaimed words are usually offensive to the in-group when used by outsiders, so caution must be taken with their use when one is not a member of the group.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | queerness - a strange attitude or habit strangeness, unfamiliarity - unusualness as a consequence of not being well known |
2. | queerness - a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex sex activity, sexual activity, sexual practice - activities associated with sexual intercourse; "they had sex in the back seat" sexual inversion, inversion - a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex lesbianism, sapphism - female homosexuality paederasty, pederasty - sexual relations between a man and a boy (usually anal intercourse with the boy as a passive partner) |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
غَرابَه
zvláštnost
løjerlighed
undarlegheit
acayipliktuhaflık
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
queerness
n
(pej inf: = homosexuality) → Schwulheit f (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
queer
(kwiə) adjective1. odd, strange or unusual. queer behaviour; queer noises in the middle of the night.
2. sick; unwell. I do feel a bit queer – perhaps I ate too many oysters.
3. (slang) homosexual.
noun a homosexual.
ˈqueerly adverbˈqueerness noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.