gregarious

adjective gre·gar·i·ous \ gri-ˈger-ē-əs \

Definition of gregarious

1 a :tending to associate with others of one's kind :social

gregarious animals

b :marked by or indicating a liking for companionship :sociable

is friendly, outgoing, and gregarious

c :of or relating to a social group

2 a of a plant :growing in a cluster or a colony

b :living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony —used especially of wasps and bees

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gregariously

adverb

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gregariousness

noun

See gregarious defined for English-language learners

See gregarious defined for kids

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Examples of gregarious in a Sentence

[J.P.] Morgan was attracted to bright, self-possessed women who met him on his own ground, felt at home in society, and shared his gregarious instincts and sybaritic tastes. —Jean Strouse, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 1999
… the gregarious trade unionist whose back-slapping mateyness helped make him Australia's most popular politician. —Time, 3 Apr. 1989
As it is a night of many parties, the more social, the more gregarious, the more invited of the guests are wondering whether to go to Harley Street first, or whether to arrive there later, after sampling other offerings. —Margaret Drabble, Harper's, July 1987
She is outgoing and gregarious.
a gregarious child who ran up to every person on the playground and wanted to be their friend

Recent Examples of gregarious from the Web

Most abusers are gregarious and well-liked, giving them a sheen of protection, and few victims come forward to complain, says Charol Shakeshaft, a leading expert on educator abuse who has studied the problem for more than 20 years.

— bethany barnes, OregonLive.com, "Benefit of the Doubt," 17 Aug. 2017
Taken as a whole there was a tilt toward the gregarious.

— cullen murphy, vanityfair.com, "When Fairfield County Was the Comic-Strip Capital of the World," 3 Aug. 2017
Since joining the Big Sky in 2012, UCD has gone 16-40, but the Aggies landed a home-run hire in Hawkins, a tireless and gregarious sort who played fullback for the school in the early 1980s.

— joe davidson, sacbee, "Football fun set to kick off at local high schools and across the NCAA," 24 July 2017
The athletes saw Nieto’s body convulse and assumed their gregarious coach was laughing.

— joe davidson, sacbee, "‘Please, God. Don’t let me be paralyzed.’ Olympian Nieto sets high bar: Walk the aisle," 14 July 2017
This likely wasn't a big deal for Bryce Harper, the gregarious Washington Nationals who was mic'd up for the National League side, but for Springer, being mic'd up wasn't entirely natural.

— marissa payne, chicagotribune.com, "MLB player with a lifelong stutter mics up for All-Star Game to inspire others," 13 July 2017
Cummings, 59, charms its riders, from vacationers to inmates, with her kindness and gregarious personality.

— james briggs, Indianapolis Star, "From Hudnut to Hogsett, this elevator operator has a special relationship with Indianapolis mayors," 10 July 2017
Emma, gregarious and quick to laugh, wants to study business administration and perhaps work in tourism.

— christopher sherman, The Christian Science Monitor, "More families fleeing Central America leads to rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico," 5 July 2017
Emma, gregarious and quick to laugh, wants to study business administration and perhaps work in tourism.

— christopher sherman, The Christian Science Monitor, "More families fleeing Central America leads to rise in refugee resettlement in Mexico," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gregarious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When you're one of the herd, it's tough to avoid being social. The etymology of gregarious reflects the social nature of the flock; in fact, the word grew out of the Latin noun grex, meaning "herd" or "flock." When it first began appearing in English texts in the 17th century, "gregarious" was applied mainly to animals, but by the 18th century it was being used for social human beings as well. By the way, "grex" gave English a whole flock of other words too, including "egregious," "aggregate," "congregate," and "segregate."

Origin and Etymology of gregarious

Latin gregarius of a flock or herd, from greg-, grex flock, herd

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1668

See Words from the same year

gregarious Synonyms

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

GREGARIOUS Defined for Kids

gregarious

adjective gre·gar·i·ous \ gri-ˈger-ē-əs \

Definition of gregarious for Students

1 :enjoying the company of other people

2 :tending to live in a flock, herd, or community rather than alone

gregarious insects

Word Root of gregarious

The Latin word grex, meaning “flock,”and its form gregis give us the root greg. Words from the Latin grex have something to do with flocks or groups. Anyone gregarious, or social, enjoys being part of the flock. To congregate is to gather as a flock or crowd. To segregate is to separate away from others or away from the flock.