What does "giddy" mean?
Someone or something that is frivolous or impulsive.
Giddy
/ˈɡɪd.i/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone or something that is frivolous or impulsive.
- Grammar: giddy is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: dizzy, lightheaded, addled, adrift.
- Useful contrasts: grave, grounded, mournful.
- Usage evidence: Deserting his family must have made the old bastard giddy with joy.
How to use "giddy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "giddy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "giddy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "giddy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "giddy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "giddy" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dizzy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "giddy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone or something that is frivolous or impulsive. archaic
"But the giddy, the idle, and the frivolous part of the vvorld vvill inceſſantly purſue a phantom, and graſp a ſhadovv."
- 2 Synonym of gid (“a disease caused by parasitic infestation of the brain by tapeworm larvae”). British, archaic
Verb
- 1 To make (someone or something) dizzy or unsteady; to dizzy. archaic, transitive
"A nevv faſhion of apparrell creepeth no ſooner into vſe, but preſently he blameth and diſpraiſeth the olde, and that vvith ſo earneſt a reſolution, and vniverſall a conſent, that you vvould ſay, it is ſome kinde of madnes, or ſelfe-fond humor, that giddieth his vnderſtanding."
- 2 To become dizzy or unsteady. archaic, intransitive
"Giddied, he gave up a moment's purchase of ground."
- 3 To move around something or spin rapidly; to reel; to whirl. archaic, intransitive, obsolete
"[B]y chance, a sudden north-wind fetch'd, / With an extreme sea, quite about again / Our whole endeavours, and our course constrain / To giddy round, and with our bow'd sails greet / Dreadful Maleia, calling back our fleet / As far forth as Cythera."
Adjective
- 1 Feeling a sense of spinning in the head, causing a perception of unsteadiness and being about to fall down; dizzy. predicative
"The man became giddy upon standing up so fast."
- 2 Causing or likely to cause dizziness or a feeling of unsteadiness. attributive
"They climbed to a giddy height."
- 3 Moving around something or spinning rapidly.
"To ſpoil Antiquities of hammerd ſteele, / And turn the giddy round of Fortunes vvheele."
- 4 Unable to concentrate or think seriously; easily excited; impulsive; also, lightheartedly silly; frivolous. broadly
"The Biſhop, and the Duke of Gloſters men, / Forbidden late to carry any VVeapon, / Haue fill'd their Pockets full of peeble ſtones; / And banding themſelues in contrary parts, / Doe pelt ſo faſt at one anothers Pate, / That many haue their giddy braynes knockt out: […]"
- 5 Unable to concentrate or think seriously; easily excited; impulsive; also, lightheartedly silly; frivolous.; Used as an intensifier. broadly, dated
"'E isn't one o' the reg'lar Line, nor 'e isn't one of the crew. / 'E's a kind of a giddy harumfrodite—soldier an' sailor too!"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Joyfully elated; overcome with excitement or happiness. broadly
"The boy was giddy when he opened his birthday presents."
- 7 Feeling great anger; furious, raging. British, broadly, dialectal
- 8 Of an animal, chiefly a sheep: affected by gid (“a disease caused by parasitic infestation of the brain by tapeworm larvae”), which may result in the animal turning around aimlessly. British, dialectal
- 9 Of a thing, especially a ship: unsteady, as if dizzy. figuratively, obsolete
"The giddy Ship ran round; the Tempeſt tore / Her Maſt, and over-board the Rudder bore."
Adjective
- 1 lacking seriousness; given to frivolity wordnet
- 2 having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Deserting his family must have made the old bastard giddy with joy."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "giddy"?
Common synonyms include: dizzy, lightheaded, addled, adrift, afloat, airheaded.
How do you use "giddy" in a sentence?
Deserting his family must have made the old bastard giddy with joy.
How do you pronounce "giddy"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɪd.i/.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English gidi, gedy, gydy (“demonically controlled or possessed; crazy, insane; foolish, idiotic, ridiculous, unwise; unsure; (rare) dizzy, shaky; (rare) of an animal: crazed, out of control; a fool”) [and other forms], from Old English gidiġ, gydiġ (“possessed by a demon or spirit, insane, mad”), from Proto-West Germanic *gudīg (“ghostly, spirited”, literally “possessed by a god or spirit”), from *god (“god”) + *-ig, *-g (suffix forming adjectives with the senses of being, doing, or having). The English word is analysable as god + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’, forming adjectives). The noun and the verb are derived from the adjective.