gooey
/ˈɡui/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.86 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A person who favours closer relationships with other people and less structured settings, rather than formal, organized settings; also, an educational approach, curriculum, etc., which is less structured.
American usage; Informal
Example Sentences
- "gooey liquid covered the floor"
- "The cookies, soft and gooey, proved a smash hit at the party."
- "[O]ysters, ice-cream, and plenty of chocolates with that goo-ey, slithery stuff in the middle. Makes you sick to think of it, eh?"
- "He would dip the point of the yen hok into a jar of dark-brown gooey stuff that looked like tar [opium], then hold a drop over the flame until it began to swell up like a tiny balloon, adding more to it now and then."
- "To avoid the gooiest mess you ever saw, plus the banshee howls of your support people, empty all of the gasoline from the gravity feed gas can of the PU-422/U generator set (which powers both radars)."
- "You and your guests will get past the slight appearance problem when you taste the warm finished cake: the brown crust is like the ideal macaroon, and the center has the gooey, custardlike texture of a proper pecan pie."
Etymology
Etymology tree English burgood Proto-Germanic *bermô? Proto-West Germanic *bermō Old English beormader. Welsh burym Proto-Indo-European *keh₂ulisder. Latin caulisbor. Proto-Brythonic *kawl Middle Welsh cawl Welsh cawl ? Persian برغولder. Persian پرغولder. Arabic بُرْغُل (burḡul)der.? Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Indo-European *ǵéwstus Proto-Italic *gustus Latin gustus Middle French goûtder. Middle French ragoûterder. French ragoûtbor. English ragout? English burgoo? Proto-Indo-European *gleyH- Proto-Indo-European *glóh₁ytn̥ Proto-Italic *gloiten Latin glūten Late Latin glūs Old French glubor. Middle English glew English glue? English goo Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -ey English gooey The adjective is derived from goo + -ey (a variant of -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’)). The noun is derived from the adjective.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡui/
- British English: /ˈɡuːi/
Usage
- Informal
- Archaic
- Dated
- Derogatory
- American usage