dipsey

9.9

Acting silly and a little forgetful or confused

adjective

Informal

: tonto

He was acting very dipsy during the party, telling silly jokes and making everyone laugh.

Examples

Her dipsy behavior in class often surprised the teacher, who expected her to be more serious.
The dipsy child couldn't stop giggling as he danced around the room in his pajamas.
Twinky, winky, dipsy your arms when you do that.

Synonyms

ditzy

vsdipsey

Informal

5 8.2

Silly and a little forgetful in a friendly way

is more plainly foolish rather than harmlessly unreliable

dippy

vsdipsey

Informal

4 8.2

Being silly and a little strange in a friendly way

is less eccentric and more simply foolish or scatterbrained

dipsy

vsdipsey

Informal

1 9.8

Acting silly and playful in a slightly strange but friendly way

is more scatterbrained and foolish rather than merely playful

knuckleheaded

vsdipsey

Informal

1 8.4

Acting in a silly, thoughtless way

is sillier and more scatterbrained rather than deliberately thoughtless

dunderheaded

vsdipsey

Offensive

1 7.9

Being very foolish and showing poor judgment

is milder and more silly or scatterbrained rather than very stupid

bête

vsdipsey

9.9

Silly in a light, slightly embarrassed way

is less about self mockery and more about genuine scatterbrained acting

duncical

vsdipsey

Offensive

9.9

Very foolish and showing little sense

is less about strong stupidity and more about harmless scatterbrained acting

Antonyms

serious

∞ 1.4

Calm and focused, not playful or joking

sensible

185 2.7

Showing good judgment and making practical choices

How Silly

absurd

284 4.4

foolish

383 1.3

dipsey

Informal

9.9

silly

Informal

40 7.4

playful

72 1.6

Surface Forms

dipsey positive

dipsier comparative

dipsiest superlative

Etymology

The word dipsey is a playful form like dippy or ditzy, both meaning 'silly' or 'forgetful'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of someone 'dipping' their attention in and out; the image of dip helps explain why dipsey means being unfocused and a little foolish.