gregarious
adjective
Did you know?
Everyone knows that birds of a feather flock together, so it comes as no surprise that gregarious was applied mainly to animals when it first began appearing in English texts in the 17th century. After all, gregarious comes from the Latin noun grex, meaning “flock” or “herd,” and it’s tough to avoid being social when you’re part of a flock, flying and roosting cheek by jowl (or beak) with your fellow feathered friends. Take starlings, for example, which congregate in massive numbers—we define the word starling as “any of a family of usually dark gregarious birds,” meaning that starlings are inclined to associate with others of their kind. By the 18th century gregarious was being used to describe social human beings as well, be they chatty Cathys or convivial Connors who relish being in the company of others.
Examples of gregarious in a Sentence
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
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
The lawyer who normally practices in New York is gregarious, quick with a joke and always happy to talk to the media, but can be ruthless in cross-examination.
—Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
Matthews isn’t necessarily the most gregarious or outgoing Leaf.
—Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Small wonder the fantasy of rising above all of that through marrying Ivan — a unicorn customer who’s young, handsome, wealthy, gregarious, and spontaneous — would beckon to the otherwise pragmatic Ani.
—Lily Burana, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gregarious
Cite this Entry
“Gregarious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gregarious. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gregarious
adjective
from Latin gregarius "relating to a herd or flock," from greg-, grex "flock, herd" — related to congregate
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