heady

[hed-ee]

See more synonyms for heady on Thesaurus.com

adjective, head·i·er, head·i·est.

intoxicating: a heady wine.
affecting the mind or senses greatly: heady perfume.
exciting; exhilarating: the heady news of victory.

rashly impetuous: heady conduct.
violent; destructive: heady winds.
clever; shrewd: a heady scheme to win the election.

Origin of heady

First recorded in 1350–1400, heady is from the Middle English word hevedy, hedy. See head, -y¹

Related formshead·i·ly, adverbhead·i·ness, nouno·ver·head·i·ness, nouno·ver·head·y, adjectiveun·head·y, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for heady on Thesaurus.com

3. thrilling, stirring, stimulating.

Antonyms

3. depressing, disappointing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for heady

Contemporary Examples

The excitement was so heady that soon musicians were standing two and three deep at the bar of the Five Spot nearly every night.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest
Nat Hentoff
October 18, 2014
Aside from oil, Russia has two great exports: brilliant, heady novelists and captivating dashboard camera videos.
Russian Dashcam Car Chase
Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video
October 9, 2014
These scenes bring out a strange lightheartedness you would not expect going into a film with such a heady synopsis.
'Rosewater' Review: Jon Stewart's Clumsy but Earnest Directorial Debut
Alex Suskind
September 9, 2014
Though I was physically exhausted, my mind was filled with the heady, mysterious events of the day.
Real Life Lazarus: When Patients Rise From the Dead
Sandeep Jauhar
August 21, 2014
The last six years have often been heady for someone who cares about progressive political movements.
Progressive-palooza: On Obama, Occupy, and Moral Monday
Jedediah Purdy
July 5, 2014

Historical Examples

It was heady, this island of the south—heady in the summer-time.
The Call of the Blood
Robert Smythe Hichens
You can get up two bottles of our Lunel—at two francs—the heady kind.
Germinie Lacerteux
Edmond and Jules de Goncourt
Maybe the ozone and the other additives in your shelter air are too heady for me.
The Creature from Cleveland Depths
Fritz Reuter Leiber
She started, looked at him thoughtfully, and smiled a heady smile.
The Goose Man
Jacob Wassermann
The odour of the burning leaves was heady, a superdistillate of memories.
Stubble
George Looms

British Dictionary definitions for heady

heady

adjective headier or headiest

(of alcoholic drink) intoxicating
strongly affecting the mind or senses; extremely exciting
rash; impetuous

Derived Formsheadily, adverbheadiness, noun

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 heady

adj.

late 14c., "headstrong, hasty, impetuous," from head (n.) + adj. suffix -y (2). First recorded 1570s in sense of "apt to go to the head."

heady

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}heady

Synonyms

Antonyms

Examples from the Web for heady

Contemporary Examples

The excitement was so heady that soon musicians were standing two and three deep at the bar of the Five Spot nearly every night.

Aside from oil, Russia has two great exports: brilliant, heady novelists and captivating dashboard camera videos.

These scenes bring out a strange lightheartedness you would not expect going into a film with such a heady synopsis.

Though I was physically exhausted, my mind was filled with the heady, mysterious events of the day.

The last six years have often been heady for someone who cares about progressive political movements.

Historical Examples

It was heady, this island of the south—heady in the summer-time.

You can get up two bottles of our Lunel—at two francs—the heady kind.

Maybe the ozone and the other additives in your shelter air are too heady for me.

She started, looked at him thoughtfully, and smiled a heady smile.

The odour of the burning leaves was heady, a superdistillate of memories.

heady

Word Origin and History for heady

adj.

Origin of heady