gadzooks

Old-fashioned mild oath

Gadzooks is an old-fashioned oath expressing surprise or annoyance, a euphemism for "God's hooks"—referring to the nails of the crucifixion.

The word sounds comically antiquated now and appears mainly in period fiction or ironic exclamations: Gadzooks, I've been robbed!

exclamation

crikey

Mild surprise interjection

blimeyBritish surprise interjection
gollyGentle exclamation of surprise
goshTame exclamation of surprise

goodness gracious · holy moly · jeepers · jiminy · huzzah · heavens · strewth · my word · good grief · mercy

archaic

forsooth

Archaic emphatic affirmation

pritheeArchaic entreaty word
marryUnite in wedlock
fieArchaic disgust interjection

hark · verily · alack · lackaday · heigh-ho · methinks · perchance · anon

surprise

astonishment

Intense sudden wonder

amazementOverwhelming surprise and wonder
shockViolent sudden disturbance
disbeliefRejection of truth claims

incredulity · stupefaction · wonderment · startlement · flabbergasted · thunderstruck · gobsmacked · dumbfounded · taken aback · bewilderment

euphemism

oath

Formal binding promise

swearVow or use profanity
expletiveProfane emotional utterance
blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred

profanity · curse · invocation · exclamatory · mild oath

Categories

exclamationsoh, yes, no, wow, hey
interjectionsah, hey, aha, sheesh, oh
Mild Oathsdarn, drat, gosh, heck, shoot
Old-timey exclamationsgolly, gee whiz, jeepers, fiddlesticks, dagnabbit
Olde Englishthee, thou, thy, thine, hath
archaic Englishthou, thee, thy, thine, ye

Opposites

temporal register

gadzooksdamn

Mild expletive

shit · holy shit · what the fuck · WTF · oh my God

intensity/offensiveness

gadzooksfuck

Coarse all-purpose profanity

holy fuck · what the fuck · motherfucker · shit · goddamn

tone/register

gadzooksfuck

Coarse all-purpose profanity

shit · damn · oh no · oh my God · Christ

Family

egad, gad, zounds

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G