# gonzo

/ˈɡɑnzoʊ/ (US) · /ɡˈɒnzəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/gonzo
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 2. bizarre or crazy

adjective · CEFR C2 · Slang

very strange, wild, or crazy in an exciting way.

For teachers: exhibiting bizarre, eccentric, or wildly unconventional characteristics.

- The party turned into a gonzo celebration with people dancing on the tables.
- The director's latest film is a gonzo masterpiece of surreal imagery and non-linear storytelling that left the critics divided.

### 3. a wild person

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang

a person who acts in a wild, crazy, or very unconventional way.

For teachers: a person characterized by wild, eccentric, or unconventional behavior.

- He is a total gonzo who never follows the rules of the office.
- The documentary follows a group of gonzos who spent the entire summer traveling across the country in a decorated school bus.

## Examples

- The reporter wrote a gonzo article about his trip to the desert.
- His gonzo style of reporting turned a simple investigation into a wild, first-person adventure that readers loved.
- While traditional journalism maintains a strict distance between the observer and the subject, gonzo writing embraces the chaos of the moment, often blurring the line between fact and the writer's personal experience.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.