— queerly , adv. — queerness , n.
/kwear/ , adj., queerer, queerest , v. , n.
adj.
1. strange or odd from a conventional viewpoint; unusually different; singular: a queer notion of justice.
2. of a questionable nature or character; suspicious; shady: Something queer about the language of the prospectus kept investors away.
3. not feeling physically right or well; giddy, faint, or qualmish: to feel queer.
4. mentally unbalanced or deranged.
5. Slang ( disparaging and offensive ).
a. homosexual.
b. effeminate; unmanly.
6. Slang. bad, worthless, or counterfeit.
v.t.
7. to spoil; ruin.
8. to put (a person) in a hopeless or disadvantageous situation as to success, favor, etc.
9. to jeopardize.
10. queer the pitch , Brit. Informal. to spoil the chances of success.
n.
11. Slang ( disparaging and offensive ). a homosexual, esp. a male homosexual.
12. Slang. counterfeit money.
[ 1500-10; perh. quer oblique, cross, adverse ]
Syn. 1. unconventional, curious, freakish, eccentric, weird. See strange .
Ant. 1. ordinary.