1
as in strange
different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion
one competitor had a queer way of running that attracted a lot of attention from the spectators
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unusual
noticeably different from what is generally found or experienced
a lot of queer things started happening almost from the day that we moved into the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
queer business practices that bear some looking into
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to humble
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in to gum (up)
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of queer
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Was this his way of queering e-commerce, subverting the platform from within?
—Oscar Schwartz, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2024
Fish lesbians often queered feminine aesthetics, warping heteronormative and cisnormative expectations of gender to play with them in more imaginative ways.
—Quispe López, Them, 1 Aug. 2024
Almodóvar’s gaze is more like a series of fun house mirrors here, passing through classic dime-store-novel narrative, the macho-man canon of midcentury Technicolor westerns and the winky camp of queering it all in circa-2023 couture.
—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
Verb
These films have always carried rich undercurrents: the corporate exploitation of blue-collar workers (the Nostromo crew, the marines in Aliens, the kids of Romulus), queered reproduction via body horror, Ripley’s evolving incarnations of motherhood, human hubris punished by its own creations.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Was this his way of queering e-commerce, subverting the platform from within?
—Oscar Schwartz, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2024
Fish lesbians often queered feminine aesthetics, warping heteronormative and cisnormative expectations of gender to play with them in more imaginative ways.
—Quispe López, Them, 1 Aug. 2024
Almodóvar’s gaze is more like a series of fun house mirrors here, passing through classic dime-store-novel narrative, the macho-man canon of midcentury Technicolor westerns and the winky camp of queering it all in circa-2023 couture.
—Leah Greenblatt, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for queer
Adjective
-
The backstory The island has been accumulating stories the way its volcanic soil accumulates roots, in layers, each one stranger than the last.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
These two worlds may seem like strange bedfellows—what does a luxury hotel in Switzerland’s Engadine valley have to do with the king of the 1980s downtown New York art scene?—
Laura May Todd,
Vogue,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Clinton did not name the member who asked the unusual questions, nor whether the lawmaker was a Republican or a Democrat.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
-
This is not unusual for our soon-to-be-deceased hero, who regularly risks injury and embarrassment to help people.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In 2014, the federal government also granted her permission to leave and re-enter the country to visit a sick family member in Mexico.—
Mathew Miranda,
Sacbee.com,
23 Feb. 2026
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In other words, routinely overloading on MSG (or feeling abnormally sick afterward) isn’t a viable concern for most people.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
James, who played after initially being listed as questionable because of arthritis in his left foot, scored 24 points in 27 minutes on eight-for-15 shooting.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
-
These false or misleading statements are characteristic of politicians with questionable integrity who are willing to say anything for political gain.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Few, if any, gave them a chance against the all-conquering Soviets, especially given the fact the American team had been humbled 10-3 in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden just days before the Games started.—
Patrick Snell,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Burnley looks to humble Chelsea when the sides clash in a Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Driven out of the family mansion, mother and child relocate to the less auspicious Belleville, New Jersey — one of the film’s few genuinely funny touches — where Mary whiles away her days in the employ of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
-
In what was an otherwise pretty gripping and funny first episode, Tribal Council was kind of a dud.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The uncommon phenomenon — in which Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus will be visible to the naked eye — comes as a treat to astronomers and stargazers alike.—
Matthew Villafane,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Unusual efforts to clear records A felony charge against a CPD officer — even one stemming from an off-duty incident — is relatively uncommon, and recent efforts by other former officers to have their criminal charges expunged have led to mixed results.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Still, many Hungarians are dubious of Orban’s anti-Ukraine messaging.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
As reviewers have noted, the engine of her Wuthering Heights is not emotion or plot but rather the whiplash created by audiovisual juxtapositions—most of which project the dubious theory that Victorian social rules were equivalent to BDSM.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Queer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/queer. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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