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Glite Dictionary
⚡ Extremely fast 😵 Causing confusion
dizzying

dizzying

3 4.1
To make you feel your head is spinning or you might lose your balance
  • adjective
  • /ˈdɪziɪŋ/
translation icon : vertiginoso
  • It's dizzying if you think of how many such shreds are in orbit at any given time.
  • dizzying heights
  • dizzying views
  • dizzying drop

Because those can be really painful and it's like and dizzying and all of this.

Examples

  • The process is dizzying, but the results are hard to beat (especially for the price!).

    Blog text (22)

  • There is no cabin there, just a dizzying drop into blackness.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "No!" I tried to stand, but the dizzying pain in my head returned, so I sat back down.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • My head throbbed with a heavy, dizzying ache, and I had to stop now and then to sit on the steps.

    Academic text (2012)

  • As I climb into the West Virginia mountains, the overlooks become dizzying.

    Blog text (8)

  • In addition to seemingly endless style variations, manufacturers offered waists in a dizzying array of fabrics, both domestic and imported.

    Academic text (2018)

  • As I lay in bed, listening to his swooping, dizzying warm-up scales, I suddenly felt our narrow room pitch up and down like a ship on a swell.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The dizzying heights of the mountain made her feel unsteady on her feet.

  • After spinning around in circles, he experienced a dizzying sensation that made him lose his balance.

  • The rapid pace of the dance left her with a dizzying feeling, as if the room was spinning.

Synonyms

disorienting
vsdizzying
8 6.0

Making someone feel confused and unable to find their way

refers more to physical imbalance feelings rather than loss of direction
head-spinning
vsdizzying
  • Informal
3 6.8

Causes strong confusion and makes you feel overwhelmed

focuses more on feeling confused or unsteady without the spinning image
vertiginous
vsdizzying
2 9.6

A very high or steep place that makes you feel dizzy

emphasizes general confusion or possible loss of balance rather than height detail
giddying
vsdizzying
7.4

Making you feel dizzy and excited from height or speed

describes general confusing or balance loss without emotional excitement

Antonyms

grounded
4.2

Based on solid facts or clear evidence

How Dizzying

vertiginous
2 9.6
dizzying
3 4.1
disorienting
8 6.0

Surface Forms

dizzying positive

Morphology

dizzying = dizzy (transparent) = dizzy + ing

Formed by straightforward adjectival use of 'dizzy' with '-ing' creating an adjective meaning 'causing dizziness'.

Etymology

Dizzying comes from the older English word dizzy, which once meant 'foolish' and later came to mean 'feeling like your head will spin', much like being giddy. So a dizzying height or change makes you feel unsteady or confused.