gadfly
4 synonyms for gadfly, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A fly, such as a botfly or horsefly, that bites animals and feeds on their blood, irritating them.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
From gad (“sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for...
Full origin of gadfly →