dizzy

[diz-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dizzy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, diz·zi·er, diz·zi·est.

having a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall; giddy; vertiginous.

bewildered; confused.

causing giddiness or confusion: a dizzy height.

heedless; thoughtless.

Informal. foolish; silly.

verb (used with object), diz·zied, diz·zy·ing.

to make dizzy.

Origin of dizzy

before 900; Middle English dysy, Old English dysig foolish; cognate with Low German düsig stupefied

Related formsdiz·zi·ly, adverbdiz·zi·ness, noun

Dean

[deen]

noun

James (Byron),1931–55, U.S. actor.

Jay HannaDizzy, 1911–74, U.S. baseball pitcher.

a male given name: from the Old English family name meaning “valley.”

Disraeli

[diz-rey-lee]

noun

Benjamin, 1st Earl of BeaconsfieldDizzy, 1804–81, British statesman and novelist: prime minister 1868, 1874–80.

Gillespie

[gi-les-pee]

noun

John Birks

[burks] /bɜrks/Dizzy, 1917–93, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dizzy

giddy, groggy, woozy, distracted, shaky, dumb, wobbly, dazed, crazy, foolish, silly, skittish, blind, muddled, bewildered, bemused, puzzled, light, addled, reeling

Examples from the Web for dizzy

Contemporary Examples of dizzy

The New York Post quoted a source saying, “He had been taking blood pressure medication and had experienced some dizzy spells.”
Camilla's Brother Died After Falling In Gramercy Park Hotel Revolving Doors
Tom Sykes
April 24, 2014
“As a result, doing both exercise and a cleanse can leave you feeling tired, dizzy and nauseous,” she says.
Is Your Juice Cleanse Doing More Harm Than Good?
DailyBurn
February 11, 2014
At the end of their segment, the BBC commentator Hazel Irvine noted how dizzy they must be.
Sorry Putin, the Sochi Opening Ceremony Was Totally Gay
Tim Teeman
February 7, 2014
The CBS network has now been switched off for millions of viewers, and the propaganda war would make George Orwell dizzy.
Bickering Behemoths: Time Warner Cable Dispute With CBS Leaves Viewers in the Dark
Lloyd Grove
August 5, 2013
And maybe her concussion was pretty bad, and she was dizzy and miserable and in bed a lot, and eventually the clot returned.
How Serious Is Hillary Clinton’s Blood Clot and Hospitalization?
Kent Sepkowitz
December 31, 2012

Historical Examples of dizzy

For as he tried to sit up, he fell back sick and dizzy on the bed.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
Harriet's climbing was not so rapid as to make her dizzy; but business was coming.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
My head is so dizzy, and my eyes so——What do you think, sir?
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
"Hardly," replied Christian, gazing upwards at the dizzy height.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman
The tremendous shaking had made her dizzy, and she lost her memory for some days.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt

British Dictionary definitions for dizzy

dizzy

adjective -zier or -ziest

affected with a whirling or reeling sensation; giddy

mentally confused or bewildered

causing or tending to cause vertigo or bewilderment

informal foolish or flighty

verb -zies, -zying or -zied

(tr) to make dizzy

Derived Formsdizzily, adverbdizziness, noun

Word Origin for dizzy

Old English dysig silly; related to Old High German tusīg weak, Old Norse dos quiet

dean

noun

the chief administrative official of a college or university faculty

(at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a college fellow with responsibility for undergraduate discipline

mainly Church of England the head of a chapter of canons and administrator of a cathedral or collegiate church

RC Church the cardinal bishop senior by consecration and head of the college of cardinalsSee also rural dean Related adjective: decanal

Derived Formsdeanship, noun

Word Origin for dean

C14: from Old French deien, from Late Latin decānus one set over ten persons, from Latin decem ten

Dean

noun

Forest of Dean a forest in W England, in Gloucestershire, between the Rivers Severn and Wye: formerly a royal hunting ground

Dean

noun

Christopher. See Torvill and Dean

James (Byron). 1931–55, US film actor, who became a cult figure; his films include East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (both 1955). He died in a car crash

Gillespie

noun

Dizzy, nickname of John Birks Gillespie. 1917–93, US jazz trumpeter

Disraeli

noun

Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. 1804–81, British Tory statesman and novelist; prime minister (1868; 1874–80). He gave coherence to the Tory principles of protectionism and imperialism, was responsible for the Reform Bill (1867) and, as prime minister, bought a controlling interest in the Suez Canal. His novels include Coningsby (1844) and Sybil (1845)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dizzy

adj.

Old English dysig "foolish, stupid," from Proto-Germanic *dusijaz (cf. Low German düsig "dizzy," Dutch duizelen "to be dizzy," Old High German dusig "foolish," German Tor "fool," Old English dwæs, Dutch dwaas "foolish"), perhaps from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke; to rise in a cloud" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits").

Meaning "having a whirling sensation" is from mid-14c.; that of "giddy" is from c.1500 and seems to merge the two earlier meanings. Used of the "foolish virgins" in early translations of Matthew xxv; used especially of blondes since 1870s. Related: Dizzily.

Old English dysigan, from source of dizzy (adj.). Related: Dizzied; dizzying.

dean

early 14c., from Old French deien (12c., Modern French doyen), from Late Latin decanus "head of a group of 10 monks in a monastery," from earlier secular meaning "commander of 10 soldiers" (which was extended to civil administrators in the late empire), from Greek dekanos, from deka "ten" (see ten). Replaced Old English teoðingealdor. College sense is from 1570s (in Latin from late 13c.).