giddy
Americanadjective
-
affected with vertigo; dizzy.
- Synonyms:
- vertiginous, lightheaded
-
attended with or causing dizziness.
a giddy climb.
-
frivolous and lighthearted; flighty.
a giddy young person.
- Synonyms:
- vacillating, inconstant, fickle, mercurial, volatile, unstable
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
-
affected with a reeling sensation and feeling as if about to fall; dizzy
-
causing or tending to cause vertigo
-
impulsive; scatterbrained
-
an exclamation of surprise
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
giddysimple
-
giddiessimple
-
have giddiedperfect
-
has giddiedperfect
-
am giddyingprogressive
-
are giddyingprogressive
-
is giddyingprogressive
-
have been giddyingperfect progressive
-
has been giddyingperfect progressive
Past
-
giddiedsimple
-
had giddiedperfect
-
was giddyingprogressive
-
were giddyingprogressive
-
had been giddyingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing giddy
Grade 9, List 6
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Inside Out & Back Again
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I still get giddy thinking about it , especially since I grew up in California next to Modesto where George Lucas was from," the 41-year-old said.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026
Ureña, a 22-year-old right-hander who has emerged as another potential ace, speaks of Soriano with a giddy amusement mixed with a solemn respect for how the starter has survived in the big leagues.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Arthur’s season-ending announcement that the months they’ve spent together only mark the start of his project might make you a little giddy to see how far and high this partnership will soar.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026
When everyone is this giddy, the median decline for the S&P 500 over the next 12 months is 13%.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
I was giddy with my own sense of accomplishment and possibility.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
