dotty

Examples

• All

• You mean Cass hasn't told you about dotty old great Aunt Bedelia?

  Creepshow (1982)

• You accuse me of making some dotty point, but I have no idea what the heck your point is!

  Blog text (24)

• It's just looking a little bit dotty, which is a bit odd.

• You know all that time I was dotty I had the most awful dreams.

  Bright Young Things (2003)

• You're not one of those dotty women who treat their dog like a kid, are you?

  Fiction book (1995)

• The guy I've got building it's a bit dotty.

  Nobody Waved Goodbye (1964)

• Almost always when there is a dotty old woman on TV, she's there as a comic caricature and nothing more.

  Blog text (14)

• She was dotty but she wasn't so far gone that she couldn't tell a stranger from her own flesh and blood.

  Smoke (1995)

• Shunning any clichés of how older women behave, Johnson gives us a fully inhabited woman who's neither dotty nor doting nor helpless.

  Blog text (14)

• He has a dotty habit of collecting old teacups from garage sales.

Synonyms

W

wacky

vsdotty

• Informal

98 5.9

Odd in a funny or silly way

is less playful, highlighting slight eccentric thought rather than humour

L

loony

vsdotty

• Offensive

58 8.2

Strange and silly in a way people call crazy

is milder and means only slight eccentricity or odd thinking

N

nutty

vsdotty

• Informal

55 7.2

Being a little crazy in a funny or strange way

is the milder, more gentle way to describe odd behaviour

K

kooky

vsdotty

• Informal

26 8.0

Slightly strange in a funny, pleasant way

is similar but stresses mild strange thinking rather than charm

D

daft

vsdotty

• Informal

18 5.8

Silly in a way that is slightly funny

is closer to mild oddness rather than mere foolishness

L

loopy

vsdotty

• Informal

17 7.9

A person who behaves in a slightly crazy or silly way

is similar but emphasizes being slightly eccentric rather than unpredictable

F

fruity

vsdotty

• Offensive

10 8.6

Used informally to describe someone who behaves in a strange or silly way

is softer, suggesting light eccentricity rather than clear irregularity

B

batty

vsdotty

• Offensive

6 8.4

Slightly strange in the way a person thinks or behaves

is narrower, meaning slightly eccentric without strong irregularity

D

ditzy

vsdotty

• Informal

5 8.2

Silly and a little forgetful in a friendly way

is about odd or eccentric thinking rather than absent-mindedness

B

barmy

vsdotty

• UK

3 8.2

Being silly and slightly crazy in a way that seems funny and harmless

is similar but focuses more on gentle eccentricity than silliness

N

nutty as a fruitcake

vsdotty

• Informal

1 9.0

Very strange and silly in a way that seems crazy

is far milder, meaning only slight eccentric or quirky behaviour

A

around the bend

vsdotty

• Offensive

1 9.3

To be very confused or act in a strange way

is milder and implies eccentricity without serious imbalance

H

haywire

vsdotty

• Informal

1 8.1

Mentally confused and behaving wildly

is calmer, implying slight eccentric behaviour rather than chaos

B

balmy

vsdotty

• Offensive

1 8.4

Being a little crazy or foolish

is more about mild oddness than plain foolishness

L

loco

vsdotty

• Offensive

1 9.9

Not behaving in a normal or sensible way

is less severe and suggests only mild eccentricity or oddness

W

whacky

vsdotty

• Informal

1 7.7

Funny in a strange or silly way

is more about mild eccentric thinking than playful silliness

B

buggy

vsdotty

• Offensive

1 8.1

Acting strange or not thinking clearly

is milder, indicating slight oddness rather than clear instability

A

a bit dotty

vsdotty

• UK

8.5

A little strange in a kind, harmless way

is the same idea but packaged as a single informal label

C

cracked

vsdotty

• Offensive

7.4

Someone who acts a little crazy

is softer, stressing gentle oddness rather than clear unbalance

B

bonkers

vsdotty

• Informal

8.0

Acting or feeling very strange

is milder, pointing to slight eccentricity rather than full craziness

N

nuts

vsdotty

• Offensive

8.6

Very crazy or doing things that show bad judgment

is a softer term for minor eccentric or odd thinking

C

crackers

vsdotty

• UK

8.8

Acting very silly and not thinking in a sensible way

is more restrained, implying light eccentricity rather than clear foolishness

K

kookie

vsdotty

• Slang

9.8

Strange in a funny or slightly crazy way

is gentler, focusing on slight eccentricity over odd behaviour

B

bats

vsdotty

• Offensive

9.3

A bit crazy or silly in a strange way

is gentler, stressing mild eccentric thinking rather than irregularity

Antonyms

N

normal

∞ 1.0

Usual or expected in most situations

S

sane

119 3.2

Having a healthy mind and able to think clearly

Idioms

A

a bit dotty

• UK

8.5

A little strange in a kind, harmless way

Compounds

D

dotty sense of humor

• UK

8.6

A playful, slightly odd way of making jokes that surprises people

How Crazy

deranged

• Offensive

77 7.6

insane

• Slur

524 4.0

crazy

• Slur

40 7.2

dotty

• Informal

2 8.5

eccentric

1 7.0

odd

798 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology