geeks
Passionate knowledge hoarders
Geeks are people intensely devoted to specialized interests, especially in technology, gaming, or pop culture.
The word once meant a carnival performer who bit the heads off live animals—a sideshow freak.
That sense of being outside mainstream society persisted as geek became an insult for socially awkward obsessives.
But as tech culture gained status, geek shifted toward pride: I'm a total computer geek, theater geeks, history geeks.
To geek out is to enthusiastically immerse yourself in such interests.
Those who write code
- codersSoftware creators
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- developersThose who create software
- softwarePrograms directing computer operations
hardware · silicon valley · cybersecurity · sysadmins · gamers · modders · overclockers · tinkerers
Knowledgeable, passionate follower
- buffAvid fan; also burnish
- enthusiastArdent admirer of something
- connoisseurExpert in matters of taste
- mavenTrusted field authority
whiz · guru · specialist · devotee · savant · authority · wonk · hobbyist
Dressing as media characters
- conventionsAccepted social practices
- fanfictionAmateur work using existing characters
- collectiblesItems people amass
- comicsSequential art medium
anime · manga · superheroes · otaku · fanart · memorabilia · LARP · role-playing
Voracious reader
- dorkSocially inept person
- eggheadSlang for intellectual
- anorakWeatherproof hooded outerwear
- wonkSlang for specialist
brainy · studious · bespectacled · awkward · introverted · socially awkward · obsessive · trivia
Unconventional in character
- oddballEccentric individual
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- idiosyncraticDistinctively individual in nature
- offbeatPleasantly strange or unusual
nonconformist · misfit · outsider · peculiar · weird · unique · individualist · fringe
programmers
Those who write code
- codersSoftware creators
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- developersThose who create software
software · hardware · silicon valley · cybersecurity · sysadmins · gamers · modders · overclockers · tinkerers · gadgets
aficionado
Knowledgeable, passionate follower
- buffAvid fan; also burnish
- enthusiastArdent admirer of something
- connoisseurExpert in matters of taste
maven · whiz · guru · specialist · devotee · savant · authority · wonk · hobbyist · junkie
cosplay
Dressing as media characters
- conventionsAccepted social practices
- fanfictionAmateur work using existing characters
- collectiblesItems people amass
comics · anime · manga · superheroes · otaku · fanart · memorabilia · LARP · role-playing · trivia
bookworm
Voracious reader
wonk · brainy · studious · bespectacled · awkward · introverted · socially awkward · obsessive · trivia · pedantic
eccentric
Unconventional in character
- oddballEccentric individual
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- idiosyncraticDistinctively individual in nature
offbeat · nonconformist · misfit · outsider · peculiar · weird · unique · individualist · fringe · countercultural
- student typesjocks, kindergartners, nerds, first graders, preps
- subculturespunk, punks, hippie, goth, hippies
- tech hobbyistsgamer, tinkerers, programmer, makers, coder
- techiesnerds, techies, coders, programmers, developers
- enthusiastsenthusiasts, fans, devotee, enthusiast, buff
- tech culturedevelopers, coders, startup culture, programmers, computers
geekscool kids
Socially dominant youth group
popular kids · jocks · in-crowd · popular crowd · socialites
geeksanti-intellectuals
Those opposing learned discourse
bimbos · philistines · simpletons · ignoramuses · dunces
- geeking outEnthusiastic obsessive immersion
- computer geekTechnology-obsessed person
- geek outIndulge intense enthusiasm
- band geeksPassionate school musicians
- tech geekElectronics-obsessed hobbyist
- geek chicIntellectual aesthetic made fashionable
geek, geeky, geeking, geekiness, geekdom, geekier, geekiest, geekspeak