EN

Synonyms for gadfly

  • noun

Most common

blighter stout warble fly social butterfly trouble-maker blood-sucker button pusher provoker

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Pest

pest, cuss informal US, blighter

2. Warble fly — any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a bot fly) or Tabanidae…

warble fly, stout

3. Social butterfly — synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the…

social butterfly, gadabout

Other

trouble-maker, horse fly, blood-sucker, button pusher, provoker

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    Any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a bot fly) or Tabanidae (horse fly), noted for irritating animals by buzzing about them, and biting them to suck their blood; a gadbee.

  2. n. 2

    Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”).

  3. n. 3

    A person or thing that irritates or instigates.

Related words

Phrases
gadfly petrel

Forms

Plural
gadflies → pests, cusses, blighters, stouts…

Example sentences

  • stout He looked small beside my father's stout body.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
gadflysteady
blighterrising
stoutsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
pest1, cuss1
5 letters
stout1
8 letters
blighter, gadabout, provoker

In other languages

Français
empêcheur de tourner en rond
Deutsch
Spielverderber