gregarious

adjective

gre·​gar·​i·​ous gri-ˈger-ē-əs 

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

gregariously adverb

gregariousness noun

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.

Synonyms

• outgoing
• social
• hospitable

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

For instance, gregarious poet and teacher Charleen Swansea appears in many of his films, playing both captivating subject and a pointed foil. —Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2025

Advertisement Mercy, Joan Silber (Sept. 2) Joan Silber’s tenth novel begins in an East Village apartment in the 1970s, where Ivan, a wayward cab driver, and his best friend, Eddie, a gregarious bartender, are experimenting with drugs. —Shannon Carlin, Time, 29 Aug. 2025

Humans are gregarious creatures. —Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 23 Aug. 2025

Basically, Splash shows what happens when two basically decent people fall for one another, occasionally interrupted by the comic hijinks of John Candy as Hanks’s gregarious brother. —Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for gregarious

• aquarius
• cinereous
• hilarious
• malarious
• nefarious
• precarious
• vicarious
• carious
• scarious
• various
• multifarious

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Kids Definition

gregarious

adjective

gre·​gar·​i·​ous gri-ˈgar-ē-əs 

-ˈger-

1

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

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

gregarious birds

2

: marked by a liking for companionship : sociable

gregariously adverb

gregariousness noun

Etymology

from Latin gregarius "relating to a herd or flock," from greg-, grex "flock, herd" — related to congregate