This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.
forbidden word: gay
gay
gay¹, adjective
gayer, gayest
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of, relating to, or being a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of their own sex or gender.
A gay couple strolled by on the boardwalk.
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of, relating to, or being a person who is sexually or romantically attracted only to people of their own sex or gender.
Gay and bisexual men are both discussed in this study.
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of, indicating, or supporting interests or issues pertaining to gay people or the gay community.
He gives charitable contributions to a gay organization.
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Older Use. having or showing a merry, lively mood: gay music.
gay spirits;
gay music.
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Older Use. bright or showy: gay ornaments.
gay colors;
gay ornaments.
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Obsolete.
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(used especially of women and especially in poetry) beautiful, lofty, noble, or excellent.
The learned man hath got the lady gay.
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excellent; topnotch.
a gay and lofty mind.
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Older Use. given to or abounding in social or other pleasures: the Gay Nineties.
a gay social season;
the Gay Nineties.
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Older Use. sexually unrestrained; having loose morals.
In the 1930s movie, the baron is referred to as “a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies.”
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Slang: Older Use. inappropriately forward or bold; overly familiar; reckless.
George got gay at the Christmas party and suddenly swept his boss’s wife onto the dance floor.
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Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. awkward, stupid, or bad.
gay, noun
Usually Offensive.
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a person, especially a man, who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of the same sex or gender.
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a person, especially a man, who is sexually or romantically attracted exclusively to people of the same sex or gender.
gay, adverb
in a gay manner.
Gay²
gay, noun
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John, 1685–1732, English poet and dramatist.
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a female or male given name.
gay
Cultural
Descriptive term for homosexuals.
Sensitive Note
The sexual orientation meaning of the word gay has become so predominant that people hesitate to use the term in its original senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy.” But the word’s association with sexuality is not new. The word gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual world included gay men too, and gay as an adjective in the sexual meaning goes back at least to the late 1930s. After World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, gay was applied openly by gay men to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. It is no longer considered slang. Today, the noun often designates only gay men and is usually used as a collective plural: gays and lesbians. How do gays feel about this? But usage as a singular noun is usually perceived as insulting. It has been argued that gay in the sense “awkward, stupid, or bad” is independent of the sexual sense, and therefore not homophobic. This argument is weakened by the fact that the sexual meaning has long been the dominant one, and thus permeates all usages of gay. See also homosexual .
Usage
Words like gay and lesbian are often used as umbrella terms describing anyone who experiences same-gender attraction, and also as more specific labels. Umbrella usage, as in gay marriage or lesbian couple, typically refers to any same-gender pairing, or to any person who is attracted to people of their own gender. Gay itself can also be used as an even more general term describing people of all genders who are attracted to their own gender. As more specific labels, gay and lesbian often mean exclusive attraction to the same gender, and may be used in contrast with terms like bisexual. And gay can also be used to refer to only men who are attracted to men (exclusively or not), in contrast to lesbian, which only refers to women. Other terms, such as sapphic for women, are sometimes used to be unambiguously inclusive of people attracted to multiple genders.
Gayness is the word used to refer to homosexuality. The noun which refers to being carefree and merry is gaiety
Other Word Forms
- gayness noun
- nongay adjective
Etymology
Origin of gay
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gai, from Old French “happy, cheerful,” from Germanic; compare Old High German gāhi “fast, sudden”
from — Definition of gay. (n.d.).
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Example sentences containing the word “gay”
Most gay and lesbian Americans seek what minorities have long sought: safety, dignity, stable relationships and the freedom to live ordinary lives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Almost 30 states have curbed or outlawed “therapy” that seeks to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity—that is, to make them stop being gay, bisexual, or transgender.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
“Little by little, it became OK to be gay, but at the start? No,” he said.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
“He, at one point, was laughing and joking about how much fun he was having with the testing and said: ‘We can be married. I’m gay, but that doesn’t matter,'” she told the court.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
Emma spoke her pity so very kindly, that with a sudden accession of gay thought, he cried,
From “Emma” by Jane Austen
from — Definition of gay. (n.d.).
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Hundreds of LGBTQI+ Resources Censored by the Trump Administration
According to new analysis by the Center for American Progress*, more than 350 LGBTQI+ pages, policies, and guides have been removed from the websites of the White House and federal agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Department of Veterans Affairs.
During the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Education’s website hosted an LGBTQI+ resources webpage, which provided a comprehensive list of fact sheets and guides focused on the needs of LGBTQI+ students. Less than one week into the new Trump administration, a sanitized error message took its place, with no hint of the content that was erased.
Censorship is a common thread in the far right’s political attacks against the LGBTQI+ community. In March 2022, for example, Florida passed a law banning the discussion of educational content related to sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Over the past several years, efforts to ban LGBTQI+ books have been on the rise. This theme characterized Donald Trump’s first presidential term, with key LGBTQI+ articles, reports, and even public apology letters removed from the websites of the White House and federal agencies. It’s clear that this new administration will act no differently in attempting to restrict access to LGBTQI+ resources.
Anticipating that this term will bring more of the same overcontrol of information, the Center for American Progress has logged webpages, reports, and guides related to the LGBTQI+ community to monitor these important documents. According to this analysis, more than 350 government webpages containing LGBTQI+ policies, information, and resources have already been removed—as of this column’s publication. Examples of removed webpages include guides for schools implementing inclusive anti-harassment policies; articles about supporting LGBTQI+ veterans; executive actions taken by President Joe Biden, such as the “Federal Evidence Agenda on LGBTQI+ Equity”; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LGBTQI+ resource webpage.
While the current administration claims to value free speech, their actions tell a different story. These pages contain key information for LGBTQI+ communities and those who work with them, and their removal marks a gravely concerning restriction of vital information. Now, where there used to be hundreds of detailed resources, there is just one message: “404 Page Not Found.”
April 4, 2026
Hudson Valley, New York
image: life drawing of holly by syd 2026
Some agencies ordered the removal of specific words from public-facing websites or the elimination of other materials (including school curricula) in which they might be included.
from — Connelly, E. A. (2025, December 22). Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship. PEN America.
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