strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular: a queer notion of justice.
of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady: Something queer about the language of the prospectus kept investors away.
not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish: to feel queer.
mentally unbalanced or deranged.
Slang.
Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.(of a person) gay or lesbian.
noting or relating to a sexual orientation or gender identity that falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary: queer subcultures.
Slang. bad, worthless, or counterfeit.
verb (used with object)
to spoil; ruin.
to put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favor, etc.
to jeopardize.
noun
Slang:Often Disparaging and Offensive. (The noun “a queer” is often used with disparaging intent and considered offensive even among those who approve of the corresponding adjective “queer.” The plural “queers” is less likely to offend than the singular “a queer.”)
a term used to refer to a person who is gay.
a person whose sexual orientation or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual mainstream or the gender binary.
Slang. counterfeit money.
Idioms for queer
queer the pitch, BritishInformal. to spoil the chances of success.
Origin of queer
First recorded in 1500–10; perhaps from German quer “oblique, cross, adverse”
Since the early 20th century, queer has had the meaning “gay or lesbian,” and for much of the time has been used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. Since the 1980s, queer has increasingly been adopted especially among younger members of the gay and lesbian community as a positive term of self-reference. However, the term is not universally accepted within the LGBT community, and might still be viewed by some as degrading. So the label queer can be offensive and painful or embraced and affirming—it all depends on the speaker’s identity, relationship to the subject, and the context of use. In-group vocabulary is not always appropriate for use by others. Queer is also a term used by activists and academics: queer politics; scholars of queer literature. The term has more recently come to include any person whose sexuality or gender identity falls outside the heterosexual norm or the gender binary. A person identifying as queer can be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, gender-fluid, etc., and the use of queer allows for the expression of LGBTQ community membership without requiring any specific label.
Disposti told Voice of San Diego he takes issue with the way homeless people with mental illnesses and queer youth displaced from their homes are treated by law enforcement in Oceanside.
Oceanside Is Rethinking Its Police Chief Hiring Process Following Community Concerns|Kayla Jimenez|September 14, 2020|Voice of San Diego
It’s not, for most of us, because we, queer or non-queer, don’t care about our country or our friends.
‘Hoax’ reveals ‘rot at core of our politics’|Kathi Wolfe|September 4, 2020|Washington Blade
Rainbow Families Annual Conference is an all-day virtual event to connect businesses and service providers who work with the LGBTQ community with queer families, parents-to-be and allies.
Calendar: Sept. 4-10|Philip Van Slooten|September 4, 2020|Washington Blade
Elsa in particular, as well as reimagined characters like Maleficent and Jafar in Disney’s recent live-action updates, all represent a definitive recent shift away from the flamboyant queer villains of Disney’s past.
Toward a queer Disney canon|Emily VanDerWerff|September 4, 2020|Vox
Queer Eye star and multi-hyphenate Tan France sat for a revealing hourlong interview with OZY CEO and co-founder Carlos Watson on a recent episode of The Carlos Watson Show.
Tan France Goes Deep on Racism and When He Almost Quit ‘Queer Eye’|Eugene Robinson|September 3, 2020|Ozy
A simple "Queer as Folk sex scenes" Google search unleashes a torrent of more of Hunnam's sex scenes from the series.
Charlie Hunnam Cast in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: A History of His Sex Scenes (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Queer feels much more like home, it feels much more descriptive to me than bisexual.
Is Bi the Last Taboo? Clive Davis Revives a Bitter Debate|Tricia Romano|February 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Queer, observed Jimmy as they neared the house, that we should have been talking about them just at the time the thing happened.
The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass|Allen Chapman
Queer bail, worthless persons who for a consideration formerly stood bail for any one in court.
The Slang Dictionary|John Camden Hotten
And he said it was a Queer Thing, but he couldn't bear the Sight of it.
People You Know|George Ade
Some other labor seek thou rather, Queer Son of Chaos, to begin!
Faust|Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
The Queer Little Thing's wish had been fulfilled and illness had come without long delay.
Prairie Gold|Various
British Dictionary definitions for queer
queer
/ (kwɪə) /
adjective
differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange
suspicious, dubious, or shady
faint, giddy, or queasy
informal, taboohomosexual
informalodd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad
slangworthless or counterfeit
noun
informal, tabooa homosexual, usually a male
verb(tr)informal
to spoil or thwart (esp in the phrase queer someone's pitch)
to put in a difficult or dangerous position
Derived forms of queer
queerish, adjectivequeerly, adverbqueerness, noun
Word Origin for queer
C16: perhaps from German quer oblique, ultimately from Old High German twērh
usage for queer
Although the term queer meaning homosexual is still considered highly offensive when used by non-homosexuals, it is often used by homosexuals themselves as a positive term, as in queer politics, queer cinema
How To Speak Queer EyeIt didn't take very long for the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye to sneak into America's chests and start fiddling with those heartstrings. And now the Fab 5 have worked their lexical magic enough for us to take notice. We can believe.