Synonyms of gadfly
32 similar words
Another word for gadfly is stout. Other synonyms of gadfly are warble fly, stoat-fly, eccentric, free spirit and heteroclite.
Synonyms and similar words for gadfly
nounAny dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a bot fly) or...
- warble flyAny member of the genus Hypoderma of large flies, parasitic on cattle and deer.
- stoat-fly
- stoutGadfly.
nounA person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate...
nounSynonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the...
- social butterflyA gregarious person who likes to attend parties and other social gatherings; a people person.
- gadaboutA person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others.
nounA person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker.
- bloodsuckerSomeone who preys on others, or who attempts to take as much from others as possible; an extortioner; a leech.
- bludger Australia, slangA person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight.
- freeloaderOne who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.
- free riderSomeone who obtains goods or services legally without paying.
- leech
- moochOne who mooches; a moocher.
- moocher
- parasiteA person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.
- scrounge
- scroungerOne who scrounges.
- scunge slangA scrounger; one who habitually borrows.
- spongeA person who takes advantage of the generosity of others (abstractly imagined to absorb or soak up the money or efforts...
- sponger
- suckerA parasite; a sponger.
- bummer US, datedAn idle, worthless fellow, without any visible means of support; a dissipated sponger.
- smell-feast archaicOne who is apt to find and frequent places where good food is available; especially one who comes uninvited to a meal...
- trencher mate archaic
Meaning of gadfly
- noun 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.
- noun A person or thing that irritates or instigates.
- noun A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant.
gadfly in other languages
Questions about synonyms of gadfly
- What is another word for gadfly?
- Gadfly has 32 synonyms on Word.ws, such as stout, warble fly, stoat-fly, eccentric, free spirit, heteroclite, deviant and deviate.
- What does gadfly mean?
- Gadfly means 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.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gadfly (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of gadfly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/gadfly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.