heady
Americanadjective
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intoxicating.
a heady wine.
-
affecting the mind or senses greatly.
heady perfume.
-
exciting; exhilarating.
the heady news of victory.
- Antonyms:
- disappointing, depressing
-
rashly impetuous.
heady conduct.
-
violent; destructive.
heady winds.
-
clever; shrewd.
a heady scheme to win the election.
adjective
-
(of alcoholic drink) intoxicating
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strongly affecting the mind or senses; extremely exciting
-
rash; impetuous
Other Word Forms
- headily adverb
- headiness noun
- overheadiness noun
- overheady adjective
- unheady adjective
Etymology
Origin of heady
First recorded in 1350–1400, heady is from the Middle English word hevedy, hedy. See head, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's heady is extremely thrilling. You might have a heady feeling as you walk up on stage to get your high school diploma. Use the adjective heady to describe a sensation that is so exciting it makes you a little dizzy, a bit like being intoxicated. You could talk about the heady scent of your mom's rose garden or the heady feeling of winning the state spelling bee. The fourteenth century meaning of heady was "headstrong or impetuous," and it's sometimes still used in this way. By the 1570's, it had also come to mean "apt to go to the head," or "exhilarating."
Vocabulary lists containing heady
The Great Gatsby
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"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Vocabulary from the narrative poem
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The Bluest Eye
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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.
Zuckerberg subsequently recruited executives from rivals OpenAI, Anthropic and Google - often personally and at heady costs.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
Nivola, in a particularly tough role, displays a heady mix of alpha machismo, tenderness and contempt that is just as funny as it needs to be without losing a crucial dimensionality.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Ultimately, though, Galsworthy’s question is much simpler than such a heady proposition.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
A glossy fashion spread of four junior Wall Streeters has set New York’s banking world aflutter—and not just because of its heady title: “Meet the Finest Boys in Finance.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
The weeks until graduation were filled with heady ac-tivities.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
