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Synonyms

spacey

American  
[spey-see] / ˈspeɪ si /
Or spacy

adjective

Informal.
spacier, spaciest

  1. dazed, out of touch with reality, or easily confused; spaced-out.

    The younger character was spacey and prone to making mistakes.

  2. characterized by an ethereal or dreamlike quality, or evoking a feeling reminiscent of the altered state experienced under the influence of narcotic drugs.

    He uses lots of effects that give the music an eerie, spacey feel.
Spacey 1 British  
/ ˈspeɪsɪ /

noun

  1. Kevin, original name Kevin Spacey Fowler . born 1959, US actor; films include Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), The Usual Suspects (1995), American Beauty (1999), which earned him an Academy Award, The Shipping News (2001), and Beyond the Sea (2004); artistic director of Old Vic Theatre Company, London, from 2003

"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
spacey 2 British  
/ ˈspeɪsɪ /

adjective

  1. slang vague and dreamy, as if under the influence of 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 spacey

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; space + -ey 1

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.

Unlike most modern pop albums, it's the work of just three people, with Rae and her collaborators Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser establishing a stylish, spacey and occasionally off-kilter sonic palette all of their own.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

The first two Tame Impala albums, 2010’s “Innerspeaker” and 2012’s “Lonerism,” were filled with carefully assembled psychedelic rock featuring spacey guitar riffs and moments of pleasing disorientation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

Songs like “Round Midnight” or “Isn’t it Romantic” begin Bill Evans-ish before lovingly entering into a Riley-ish spacey realm.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2025

And he appeared just as often in more popular fare, playing a spacey tank commander in “Kelly’s Heroes,” a demented arsonist in “Backdraft” and an authoritarian president in the “Hunger Games” films.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2024

So he wasn’t just a careless, spacey, moon-eyed idiot who’d witnessed a crime and couldn’t identify the man who did it.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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.