Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

giddy

 
Dictionary: gid·dy   (gĭd'ē) pronunciation
 
adj., -di·er, -di·est.
    1. Having a reeling, lightheaded sensation; dizzy.
    2. Causing or capable of causing dizziness: a giddy climb to the topmast.
  1. Frivolous and lighthearted; flighty.
intr. & tr.v., -died, -dy·ing, -dies.

To become or make giddy.

[Middle English gidi, crazy, from Old English gidig.]

giddily gid'di·ly adv.
giddiness gid'di·ness n.

SYNONYMS  giddy, dizzy, vertiginous. These adjectives mean producing a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall: a giddy precipice; a dizzy pinnacle; a vertiginous height.

WORD HISTORY   The word giddy refers to fairly lightweight experiences or situations, but at one time it had to do with profundities. Giddy can be traced back to the same Germanic root *gud– that has given us the word God. The Germanic word *gudigaz formed on this root meant “possessed by a god.” Such possession can be a rather unbalancing experience, and so it is not surprising that the Old English descendant of *gudigaz, gidig, meant “mad, possessed by an evil spirit,” or that the Middle English development of gidig, gidi, meant the same thing, as well as “foolish; mad (used of an animal); dizzy; uncertain, unstable.” Our sense “lighthearted, frivolous” represents the ultimate secularization of giddy.


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics
 
Thesaurus: giddy
Top

adjective

  1. Having a sensation of whirling or falling: dizzy, lightheaded, reeling, vertiginous, woozy. See awareness/unawareness.
  2. Producing dizziness or vertigo: dizzy, dizzying, vertiginous. See awareness/unawareness.
  3. Given to lighthearted silliness: empty-headed, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, frothy, harebrained, lighthearted, scatterbrained, silly. Informal gaga. Slang birdbrained, dizzy. See ability/inability.

 
Antonyms: giddy
Top

adj

Definition: silly, impulsive
Antonyms: calm, careful, level-headed, sensible, serious


 
WordNet: giddy
Top
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling
  Synonyms: dizzy, woozy, vertiginous

Meaning #2: lacking seriousness; given to frivolity
  Synonyms: airheaded, dizzy, empty-headed, featherbrained, light-headed, lightheaded, silly


 
Translations: Giddy
Top

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - svimmel, ør, tummelumsk, svimlende, kåd
v. intr. - blive svimmel
v. tr. - gøre svimmel

Nederlands (Dutch)
duizelig, duizelingwekkend, onbezonnen, (mentaal) zeer opgewonden, (doen) duizelen

Français (French)
adj. - vertigineux, enivrant, écervelé, irréfléchi
v. intr. - devenir/rendre vertigineux/enivrant
v. tr. - devenir/rendre vertigineux/enivrant

Deutsch (German)
adj. - schwindelig, schwindelerregend, leichtfertig, übermütig
v. - schwindelig machen, schwindelig werden

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (παρα)ζαλισμένος, ζαβλακωμένος, επιπόλαιος, άμυαλος, ελαφρύς, ιλιγγιών, ιλιγγιώδης
v. - προκαλώ/νιώθω ζαλάδα ή ίλιγγο

Italiano (Italian)
stordito

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - atordoado, tonto
v. - ficar com vertigem, provocar vertigem

Русский (Russian)
испытывающий головокружение, сумасшедший, глупый, головокружительный, ветреный, вертящийся

Español (Spanish)
adj. - mareado, vertiginoso
v. intr. - marearse
v. tr. - marear

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - vimmelkantig, svindlande, tanklös, vanvettig
v. - få (ge) svindel

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
眼花的, 头晕的, 晕眩, 使晕眩

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 眼花的, 頭暈的
v. intr. - 暈眩
v. tr. - 使暈眩

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 어지러운, 흥분한
v. intr. - 어지러워지다
v. tr. - 어지럽게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - めまいがする, めまいを起こさせる, うわついた, ばかばかしい
v. - 目をくらませる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مصاب بدوار, مستهتر (فعل) يصيب بدوار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מסוחרר, מסחרר, לא-רציני, קל-דעת, בליין‬
v. intr. - ‮סחרר‬
v. tr. - ‮הסתחרר‬


 
 
Learn More
giddily
giddy-headed
scatter-brained

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more