Dictionary

gooey en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡui/ (General-American)
• /ˈɡuːi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• (General-American) audio

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.

Meanings

1. (informal) Having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky.
   • [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? 1929 October, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Episode of the Dog McIntosh”, in Very Good, Jeeves!, London: Herbert Jenkins Limited […], published 20 June 1930, →OCLC, page 121:
   • "That's next. Sprinkle it all over." She nodded at the bowl with the cinnamon, sugar and butter crumble. "The more, the gooier." / He cocked an eyebrow. "Is gooier better for a toddler?" / "Gooier is better for everyone. But let's make sure it's right." She dipped her finger into the bowl. 2021, Sasha Summers, chapter 12, in The Rancher’s Forever Family (Harlequin Special Edition; 2838), Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Special Edition, →ISBN:
   • And maybe Hazira was always going to be a gooey marshland, but that doesn't mean you entice the nation's poorest and most dismissed groups to live there. 2023, Rob Verchick, “Climate and Castle”, in The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, part I (Understanding Resilience):
   • gooey liquid covered the floor
   • 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. 2009 September 13, Amanda Hesser, “Recipe redux: Huguenot torte, 1965”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022:
   • It took months of baking and a lot of choc chips, but finally I cracked the perfect choc chip cookie—gooey in the centre, with a crisp edge and a caramelised nuttiness from the brown butter. 2022, Kitty Tait, Al Tait, Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 276:
   • 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. 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 46:
   • The cookies, soft and gooey, proved a smash hit at the party.
   • On 8 September 2003, thanks to a super science waste management facility gone bananas, 8 September 2003 recurs instead and the entire world is changed. For the better, if you ask the seven unlucky sods who originally died, and are now explosively alive. For the worse, if you ask the billions of ordinary people now in daily danger of being atomized, brainwashed, or transmogrified into gooey flesh-sculptures. 2023 October 26, Harry Blank, “Wrong Tomorrow […]”, in SCP Foundation (The Breach Goes On; 2), archived from the original on 06 Oct 2024:
   • 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). 1964, “Communications: Tips on the Tipsies”, in PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly, number 135, Fort Knox, Ky.: Department of the Army, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 46:
2. (figuratively, informal) Emotional or sentimental, especially to an excessive extent; mushy, soppy.
   • Nobody goes all gooey over a character like me and talks about having half a million dollars and offers me a trip to Rio and a nice home complete with all the luxuries. 1958, Raymond Chandler, Playback, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], page 107:
   • What flower has been bred in more than three thousand varieties, and become the symbol of the gooeyest human sentimentality and pampering? 1956 April, H[omer] Nearing, Jr., “The Neurotic Rose”, in Leo Margulies, editor, Fantastic Universe, volume 5, number 3, New York, N.Y.: King-Size Publications, →OCLC, page 87:
   • Yet sooner or later, even the most devout Disneyphobe would break down and admit that, as a child, they'd shed an elephant tear or two for Dumbo's mummy; or felt their nose growing Pinocchio-style every time they fibbed about the dog eating their homework; or simply swooned at some gooey gouached sunset. 1997, Jonathan Romney, “The Lion King”, in Short Orders: Film Writing, London: Serpent’s Tail, →ISBN, page 129:
   • She could still have a family. She could afford it. If she wanted to. But she's never felt the urge. Never felt the gooey drooliness she's observed in other women when they peek into a pram. 2002, Regi Claire, chapter 20, in The Beauty Room, Edinburgh: Polygon, Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 157:
   • And that cat turns my stomach. I thought you said Spaniards weren't gooey—I've never seen anybody gooeyer than she is about that thing. 1980, Ella Leffland, “Glad Offerings”, in Last Courtesies and Other Stories, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 147:
3. (archaic, figuratively, informal) Distasteful, unpleasant.
   • Mr. Hugh Dillman's Palm Beach divorce suit will be gooey, Three of his golf-playing ???? will be mentioned … 1938 November 15, Walter Winchell, “On Broadway”, in Harold W. Sanford, editor, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6, column 3:

Forms

Antonyms

unemotional · amiable · comely · nice · charming · welcome · acceptable · unsentimental · pleasing · pleasant · agreeable

Coordinates

icky · slimy · gummy · tacky

Deriveds

gooey butter cake · gooily · gooeyness · ooey-gooey · gooiness

Relateds

goolike · goo

Synonyms

rank · mawkish · kitsch · repugnant · munted · obnoxious · grotty · vile · schmaltzy · grim · fulsome · gro · cheesy · sickly · rancid · unpleasant · distasteful · offensive · icky · foul · horrid · demonic · hokey · infernal · bum · kitschy · mushy · gooey · nasty · disgusting · bathetic · scabrous · treacly · squishy · maudlin · bad · oozy · treacly · overemotional · abhorrent · syrupy · loathsome · abhorrant · nauseous · grody · strident · repulsive · sickly sweet · drippy · mawkish · harsh · corny · goolike · oversentimental · sickening · ooey-gooey · disagreeable · revolting · gross · soupy · gooey · maudlin · soppy · overwrought · obscene · slushy · mean · sappy

Translations (41)

el γλοιώδης (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · nl zacht (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es mazacotudo (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · pt melequento (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sh ljȉgav (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · de klebrig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · nl kleverig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · fr gluant (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sv geggig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · mi piapia (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es ligamazoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · nl papperig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es mantecoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · ta கொழகொழ (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · fi mönjäinen (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es viscoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · pt gosmento (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es vescoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es ajonjoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · nl slijmachtig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es melifluo (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · bg лепкав (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es melificado (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sv kletig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · fi tahmainen (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sh gnjȅcav (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sh љи̏гав (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · de zähflüssig (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · mi ware (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · pdt bakrich (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · bg кашест (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es masacotudo (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · sh гње̏цав (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · fi tahmea (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · nl visceus (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es baboso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · rar piapia (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es pegachento (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es lirioso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · es pegajoso (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky) · bcl mapulot (having the consistency of goo: soft or viscous, and sticky)

gooey en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡui/ (General-American)
• /ˈɡuːi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• (General-American) audio

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.

Meanings

1. (informal) A thing which is soft or viscous, and sticky.
   • I put the "gooeys," green fluorescent snots, into Louie's nose, set up his brain, and get ready to play the game with my mom. We keep putting our fingers up Louie's nose and pulling gooeys out of it. 1997, Paula Danziger, Amber Brown Sees Red (Amber Brown; 4), New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 99:
   • On impulse, Pat stopped at a bakery. […] He came out with a box full of gooies—éclairs, cream horns, Napoleons— […] and we parked outside the college grounds and ate them, yapping at each other and smearing ourselves with chocolate and cream. 1964, Kit Reed, chapter II, in At War as Children […], New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Company, →OCLC, pages 17–18:
2. (dated, derogatory, figuratively, informal) A person who is regarded as weak or worthless; a fool.
   • But only a confirmed chump and irremediable ‘gooey’ comes up for a third ‘chuck.’ […] ‘Jest jollyin’ these gooeys, that’s how’, he said. 1911, Edward Dyson, “Dukie M’Kenzie’s Dawnce”, in Benno and Some of the Push (Bookstall Series), Sydney, N.S.W.: N.S.W. Bookstall Company, →OCLC, page 32:
3. (US, figuratively, informal) 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.
   • The longstanding dispute between the phonics and whole language approaches to early instruction […] has been colourfully described as the ‘Pricklies versus the Gooies’. The ‘Pricklies’ emphasise the structure of the curriculum and provide lots of teacher-directed drill, especially in the teaching of ‘phonics’. The ‘Gooies’ emphasise the child’s self-directed exploration of print. The teacher provides guided experience, especially of whole language, in rich meaningful context. 1992, Alan J[ohn] Watson, Anne M. Badenhop, “Introduction: Moving Out of a Shadow”, in Alan J. Watson, Anne M. Badenhop, editors, Prevention of Reading Failure, Gosford, N.S.W.: Ashton Scholastic, →ISBN, page 15:
   • Alan Watts says that these two types may be named the "prickly" people and the "gooey" people. The pricklies, he says, the Marthas, are tough-minded, rigorous, and precise and like to stress differences and divisions between things. The gooeys, the Marys, are tender-minded romanticists who love wide generalizations and grand syntheses. 1979, Robert C. Wright, “Reminiscing and Romancing in Mid-America: Rumes, Romances, Stories, and Poems”, in Frederick Manfred, Boston, Mass.: Twayne Publishers, G[arrison] K[ent] Hall & Co., →ISBN, page 99:
   • Which is superior: what is known as low-structure teaching (education through experience) or high-structure instruction (stress on drill in the basics)? Many low-structure advocates, sometimes described as "gooeys," follow the theory, developed since 1920 by New York City's Bank Street College of Education, that learning must adapt to the pace of the individual child. Under this system children learn to read by being provided with a rich environment that stimulates them to learn the words they need. Many high-structure people, known in the trade as "pricklies," use the DISTAR program (for Direct Instruction Systems for Teaching and Remediation) developed at the University of Oregon. DISTAR sticks to phonics, a tightly programmed curriculum and lots of drill. […] [A] more recent local study of comparable New York City neighborhood schools showed gooeys and pricklies scoring about the same. Gooeys consistently argue that standard paper-and-pencil achievement tests are narrow and cannot measure the wide-ranging benefits of their creative approach. 1981 November 9, Ellie McGrath, “‘Pricklies’ vs. ‘Gooeys’: Conflicting Theories of Learning in the Wake of Head Start”, in Henry Anatole Grunwald, editor, Time, volume 118, number 19, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2026:
   • Planned variation was based on systematically applying different educational approaches developed by academic experts, each of whom was to become a "sponsor" of a single type of program – from highly structured classroom models, sometimes called "pricklies," to open classrooms and more exploratory environments, dubbed "gooeys." 1976 February 15, Pamela Moore, “Follow Through—Biggest Social Science Study Ever …”, in Daniel S[heldon] Greenberg, editor, Science & Government Report: The Independent Bulletin of Science Policy, volume IV, number 3, Washington, D.C.: Science & Government Report, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4, column 2:

Forms

Antonyms

prickly

Relateds

softy · wishy-washy · touchy-feely

Synonyms

punk · shitheap · toerag · drop kick · gooey · underperson · fuckbucket · cipher · shicer · louse · scullion · assbucket · rinky-dink · asswipe · crumb · streak of piss · bugger · dandiprat · ramp · twerp · nonce · badling · nobody · custron · nonentity · absolute zero · lidderon · pissant · waste of space · pile of shit · zero · geek · sparrow-fart · hoon · cockstain · pelf · fritlag · nought · no-mark · maggot · doink · nowmun · unworthy · wankstain · ne'er-do-well · pig dog · losel · fellow · puny · slubberdegullion · douchebag · roly-poly · truant · carrion · dirtbag · good-for-nothing · blatherskite · loser · good-for-naught · quat · no-good

Translations (2)

fi tahmainen (thing which is soft or viscous, and sticky) · fi vähemmän muodollinen opetusratkaisu (educational approach, curriculum, etc., which is less structured)