giddy

American  

[gid-ee] / ˈgɪd i /

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

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verb (used with or without object)

giddied, giddying

1. to make or become giddy.

giddy British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to make or become giddy

Other Word Forms

• giddily
  adverb
• giddiness
  noun
• ungiddy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of giddy

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”

Explanation

If you've ever spun in circles until you fell to the ground laughing, you know how it feels to be giddy. This adjective can mean dizzy, elated, or — as in the spinning around example — a lightheaded, lighthearted combination of the two. The hackneyed phrase "giddy as a schoolgirl" calls forth the image of a kid giggling with her friends over some adolescent foolishness. Giddy has been used to describe someone incapable of serious thought or easily excited as far back as the 16th century. Given that, in modern usage, giddy describes someone silly and frivolous, it's interesting to know that the Old English source for this word has a slightly darker tinge: gidig means "insane" or "god-possessed."

Example Sentences

Akl, along with KidSTREAM board chairman Bryan Yee and guest experience director Dani Hildreth, were giddy with excitement as they took me on a tour of the museum in the days before it opened.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Bush pushed the idea during a brief, giddy window between the financial crisis of 2000-’03 and the one of 2007-’09.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

After all, few people back then correctly anticipated how giddy investors would later get over artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

While the rest of the country scrambles to make a living in a world upended by the digital revolution, its creators revel in lifestyles that make the giddy heights of Versailles appear quaint.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

I’m suddenly giddy and grinning, feeling electric, like a sunbreak bursting through a storm cloud.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Related Words

• bemused
• dizzy
• gaga
• skittish
• woozy