gregarious

gre·gar·i·ous | \ gri-ˈger-ē-əs

How to pronounce gregarious (audio)

\

Definition of gregarious

1a : 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

2a 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

Other Words from gregarious Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about gregarious

Keep scrolling for more

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."

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 on the Web The gregarious man at the farmer’s market fruit stand, who asks about my family in the U.S. — Colleen De Bellefonds, SELF, "As an American Expat in Paris, Boulangeries Are My Source of Comfort Right Now," 28 Apr. 2020 Frank Williams, a gregarious and well-liked fire official from Engine 44, Ladder 18 on the city's west side, had died from complications from the coronavirus. — USA Today, "Heartbreak, prayer and mourning: US leads world in coronavirus deaths after deadliest week," 15 Apr. 2020 Married and the father of four adult children, Dr. Hahn is widely praised as gregarious and a quick study. — Thomas M. Burton, WSJ, "No Shortage of Controversies for New FDA Commissioner," 29 Jan. 2020 Willie Wilkerson Vietnam veteran, former firefighter, gregarious friend Aretha Franklin's former romantic partner and longtime friend Willie Wilkerson died April 4 of COVID-19. — Freep.com, "We will remember: Tributes to a few of the metro Detroiters who died of coronavirus," 12 Apr. 2020 One of them, gregarious jock Peter Kavinsky (), hatches a plan to pose as a pretend couple that ends up with them — spoiler alert for anyone who’s never seen a rom-com — falling in love for real. — Jen Yamatostaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "How Jordan Fisher made #TeamJohn worth rooting for in ‘To All the Boys 2’," 14 Feb. 2020 With a demeanor that is part charming frat boy, part earnest professor, Mr. Sand is gregarious and disarming. — New York Times, "The Bowhunting Influencer of Iowa Democrats," 7 Dec. 2019 Obloy and Kochmit are gregarious fellows who roll with the punches. — Marc Bona, cleveland, "Recently opened Medina distillery shifts gears, making and giving away hand sanitizer," 24 Mar. 2020 But Malone proved to be a gregarious, full-throated performer Sunday night, eager to cut through murky aesthetics to convey tales of lost love and betrayal. — David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "Post Malone emerges from haze to deliver winning performance in Indianapolis," 10 Feb. 2020

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about gregarious

Listen to Our Podcast about gregarious

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near gregarious

gregarious wave

Statistics for gregarious

Last Updated

8 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Gregarious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gregarious. Accessed 4 Jun. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for gregarious

gregarious

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of gregarious

: enjoying the company of other people

biology : tending to live in groups

See the full definition for gregarious in the English Language Learners Dictionary

gregarious

gre·gar·i·ous | \ gri-ˈger-ē-əs

\

Kids Definition of gregarious

1 : enjoying the company of other people

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

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

posture

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of exiguous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.