adzooks

C2+ Topic:Register & Style

US /ædˈzuks/ UK /adˈzuːks/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

intj
an archaic exclamation of surprise or annoyance

Adzooks! he cried, dropping the candle in fright.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 intj · an archaic exclamation of... gadzookszoundsegadodsbodikins

Word family

Related forms gadzooks

Etymology

A variant of gadzooks, a minced oath of the 17th century, probably an alteration of an exclamation such as 'God's hooks' (a euphemistic reference to the nails of the Crucifixion), with the divine name disguised to avoid blasphemy.

Topics

External links

# adzooks

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** intj
**IPA (US):** /ædˈzuks/
**IPA (UK):** /adˈzuːks/

## Meanings
1. an archaic exclamation of surprise or annoyance

## Examples
- Adzooks! he cried, dropping the candle in fright.

## Synonyms
- gadzooks
- zounds
- egad
- odsbodikins

## Related Forms
- gadzooks

## Etymology
A variant of gadzooks, a minced oath of the 17th century, probably an alteration of an exclamation such as 'God's hooks' (a euphemistic reference to the nails of the Crucifixion), with the divine name disguised to avoid blasphemy.

## AI Etymology
adzooks is a variant of gadzooks, a minced oath of the 17th century, probably an alteration of an exclamation such as 'God's hooks' (a euphemistic reference to the nails of the Crucifixion), with the divine name disguised to avoid blasphemy. The explanation preserves that uncertainty: the proposed comparisons illuminate the form, but they do not turn the word into a securely traced inheritance or borrowing. In modern use, the intj sense is "an archaic exclamation of surprise or annoyance", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as gadzooks, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary.

## Topics
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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