Gay a. [Compar. Gayer superl. Gayest.]
1. Excited with merriment; manifesting sportiveness or delight; inspiring delight; livery; merry.
Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay. --Pope.
Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed. --Gray.
2. Brilliant in colors; splendid; fine; richly dressed.
Why is my neighbor's wife so gay? --Chaucer.
A bevy of fair women, richly gay
In gems and wanton dress! --Milton.
3. Loose; dissipated; lewd. [Colloq.]
Syn: -- Merry; gleeful; blithe; airy; lively; sprightly, sportive; light-hearted; frolicsome; jolly; jovial; joyous; joyful; glad; showy; splendid; vivacious.
Gay, n. An ornament [Obs.]
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gay
adj 1: bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer; "a cheery
hello"; "a gay sunny room"; "a sunny smile" [syn: cheery,
sunny]
2: full of or showing high-spirited merriment; "when hearts
were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in such
a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at the
reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old
gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry
laughter"; "a mirthful laugh" [syn: jocund, jolly, jovial,
merry, mirthful]
3: given to social pleasures often including dissipation; "led
a gay Bohemian life"; "a gay old rogue with an eye for the
ladies"
4: brightly colored and showy; "girls decked out in brave new
dresses"; "brave banners flying"; "`braw' is a Scottish
word"; "a dress a bit too gay for her years"; "birds with
gay plumage" [syn: brave, braw]
5: offering fun and gaiety; "a gala ball after the
inauguration"; "a festive (or festal) occasion"; "gay and
exciting night life"; "a merry evening" [syn: gala(a), festal,
festive, merry]
6: homosexual or arousing homosexual desires [syn: queer, homophile(a)]
n : someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual
attraction to persons of the same sex [syn: homosexual,
homo]