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Glite Dictionary
gun-happy

gun-happy

1 8.5
Too ready to use guns or violence without thinking
  • adjective
  • /ɡʌnˈhæpi/
  • Informal
translation icon : aficionado a las armas
  • Then this gun-happy child bride squeezed off a round...

Examples

  • most of all, he is gun-happy.

    National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

  • In a gun-happy neighborhood, violence seems to be a common response to minor disputes.

  • Many believe that the gun-happy culture in some states leads to unnecessary risks.

  • The film depicted a gun-happy society where conflicts were frequently resolved with firearms.

Synonyms

trigger-happy
vsgun-happy
  • Offensive
16 8.2

Quick to use force without thinking

shows a habitual tendency to use violence excessively and often recklessly

Antonyms

peaceful
428 1.0

Calm and quiet, without noise or trouble

nonviolent
44 4.0

Not using violence or physical force

How Inclined

gun-happy
  • Informal
1 8.5
trigger-happy
  • Offensive
16 8.2

Surface Forms

gun-happy positive

Morphology

gun-happy = gun + happy (semi-transparent) = gun + happy

The parts 'gun' and 'happy' are clear, but the idiomatic sense 'recklessly eager to use guns' is a specialized pragmatic meaning not fully predictable from the literal parts for all learners.

Etymology

Gun-happy joins gun and happy to paint a picture of someone who is 'too eager to shoot'. So, gun-happy means being ready or careless about using guns or violence.