giddy

[gid-ee]

adjective

giddier, giddiest 

1. affected with vertigo; dizzy.

   Synonyms: vertiginous, lightheaded

2. attended with or causing dizziness.

   a giddy climb.

3. frivolous and lighthearted; flighty.

   a giddy young person.

   Synonyms: vacillating, inconstant, fickle, mercurial, volatile, unstable

verb (used with or without object)

giddied, giddying 

1. to make or become giddy.

giddy

/ ˈɡɪdɪ /

adjective

1. affected with a reeling sensation and feeling as if about to fall; dizzy

2. causing or tending to cause vertigo

3. impulsive; scatterbrained

4. an exclamation of surprise

verb

1. to make or become giddy

Other Word Forms

• giddiness noun
• giddily adverb
• ungiddy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of giddy¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English gidy, Old English gidig “mad,” variant of gydig (unrecorded), derivative of god God, presumably originally “possessed by a divine being”

Word History and Origins

Origin of giddy¹

Old English gydig mad, frenzied, possessed by God; related to _God

Example Sentences

A great, giddy blast of air from the 750-horsepower fans blew my bangs straight off my forehead.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s the lighting designer from New York who was so thrilled to finally reach the Mojave phone that she stripped naked “and ran around like a giddy little girl.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Chuppahs and kimchi,” he repeated, giddy to have coined a new catchphrase for multicultural weddings.

From Los Angeles Times

At this point in his career, Oliver likes framing himself as giddy, low-fi and spontaneous.

From Los Angeles Times

He and DeSantis laughed together, giddy at the thought of immigrants being torn apart by wild animals.

From Salon

Related Words

• bemused 
• dizzy 
• gaga 
• skittish 
• woozy