Resembling or characteristic of a herd; showing behavior similar to animals moving together as a group.
Compound of herd (from Old English heord, meaning a group of animals) plus the suffix -like (from Old English gelic, meaning similar or resembling). The combination emerged in English to describe gregarious or conformist behavior.
This word perfectly captures what psychologists call 'herd mentality'—the fascinating tendency for people to follow the crowd even against their own judgment, which explains everything from fashion trends to financial bubbles!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.