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chummy

chummy

23 5.2
Friendly in a relaxed way like a close friend
  • adjective
  • /ˈtʃʌmi/
  • Informal
translation icon : cercano
  • What, you getting all chummy with Peter now?
  • get chummy
  • too chummy
  • pretty chummy

First, it feels too chummy and borderline tacky.

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Examples

  • Since when are you all so chummy?

  • Actually, I usually ate alone, but me and the pizza guy, we got pretty chummy.

  • You sent those two off in a car, chummy chummy with one another.

  • Getting pretty chummy with her, huh?

  • Nothing new to report, except that he and I have become quite chummy.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • "You two are getting chummy," Rita said.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • We're getting a little chummy, aren't we?

  • You got awfully chummy with my wife all of a sudden.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • You were so chummy with them, they'd confide in you, wouldn't they?

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I saw you getting all chummy with your new colleague at the office party.

Synonyms

friendly
vschummy
773 1.0

Kind and helpful toward other people

focuses on behaving like close friends rather than general kindness
thick
vschummy
  • UK
16 7.8

Being very friendly and close to someone

focuses on acting like close friends rather than the relationship
buddy-buddy
vschummy
  • Informal
5 8.0

Acting overly friendly in a way that seems fake or inappropriate

is friendly without the implication of suspicion or inappropriateness
matey
vschummy
  • UK
8.2

Friendly in a way that feels like you are close friends

focuses more on private, close friend behaviour rather than general group camaraderie
pally
vschummy
  • UK
8.2

Too friendly in a way that makes you seem like a close friend

is friendly but without excessive or pushy intimacy

Antonyms

61 4.9

Not friendly or warm, behaving in a quiet, cold way

34 6.3

Not friendly and distant, not joining in with other people

How Friendly

intimate
  • NSFW
160 4.4
close
1.3
chummy
  • Informal
23 5.2
friendly
773 1.0
cordial
33 4.1

Surface Forms

chummy positive

Morphology

chummy = chum (transparent) = chum + y

The adjective is directly formed from the noun 'chum' with the productive adjective-forming suffix '-y', yielding 'friendly' or 'like a chum'.

Etymology

Chummy comes from chum, an old informal word for 'friend', plus the ending -y that makes a describing word. One idea says chum began as a short form of chamber mate—someone you shared a room with, so they felt like a close friend. So, chummy means 'friendly' or behaving like close friends.