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Synonyms

space cadet

American  

noun

Slang.

  1. a person who appears to be in their own world or out of touch with reality.

  2. a person who behaves oddly or seems stupefied or remote because of the influence of drugs; druggie.

space cadet British  

noun

  1. slang a person who is eccentric or out of touch with reality, as if affected by drugs

"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

Etymology

Origin of space cadet

1950–55, for sense “spaceman trainee”

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.

“Life has been wild lately,” added Brumback, a platinum-haired raver with a space cadet vibe and freakish tumbling skills.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2020

"I suppose I was always destined to be a space cadet," he says.

From BBC • May 16, 2019

Still, Beasley provides size and scoring, and, despite having a reputation for being something of a space cadet, LeBron reportedly got along with the forward when they played together in Miami.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2018

I had always thought that turning it off and letting it flow was a bunch of hippie space cadet psychic burn-out stuff.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2018

My cousin Jason Taylor is such a space cadet.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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.