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.

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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

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spacey ² British  

/ ˈspeɪsɪ /

adjective

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

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Etymology

Origin of spacey

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

Example Sentences

Many know her from her role as D-list comedienne Jenna Maroney on “30 Rock” or spacey socialite Jacqueline Voorhees in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

Songs are by turns epic, edgy, spacey and insistent.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 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

That triggered a dramatic rebirth, with a run of gold and platinum albums that fused soul melodies with spacey psychedelia and the hard-edged funk of Sly Stone and James Brown.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2023

I felt very spacey and thought it was just best to repeat the last phrase of whatever the Colonel said so he could keep talking.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green