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Glite Dictionary
moonstruck

moonstruck

1 7.9
Feeling dreamy and romantic because of love, or acting strangely during a full moon
  • adjective
  • /ˈmuːnstrʌk/
  • Literature
translation icon : lunar
  • Do you believe that we are moonstruck?

Examples

  • IT'S ALL ONE TO ME WHETHER HE WAS THE EMPEROR OF CHINA OR A MOONSTRUCK MADMAN.

    The Prince and the Pauper (1977)

  • Then they stagger off, leaving the less moonstruck but considerably brightened to try to live the insight out.

    Blog text (27)

  • But I can't stand that Lane gets so moonstruck over his line.

    September (1987)

  • I believe you're moonstruck.

    A Damsel in Distress (1937)

  • You are crazy with love, dizzy with longing, coiled with misplaced, moonstruck, lunatic, unmet, unmatched desire.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • After the washing up, after he'd bitten his tongue not to answer back when she told him again how to wash the pot, like he was that moonstruck boy who couldn't even split a piece of kindling for being mad in love, after he'd dried his hands and sat down again in his own chair, she surprised him.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • They wandered through the park, lost in their moonstruck fantasies of love and adventure.

  • As she gazed at the starry sky, she felt pleasantly moonstruck, dreaming of what could be.

  • In a moonstruck daze, he forgot all his worries and focused solely on her laughter.

Synonyms

moony
vsmoonstruck
  • Informal
1 7.3

Looking dreamy and lost in thought, not paying attention

is more romantic in tone and was once used for madness
moonish
vsmoonstruck
  • Archaic
9.3

Being dreamy and often lost in romantic thoughts

is broader, covering dreamy romance and general distraction

Antonyms

practical
507 2.6

About how something works in real life rather than in ideas

sane
119 3.2

Having a healthy mind and able to think clearly

How Dreamy

besotted
1 7.2
moonstruck
  • Literature
1 7.9
dreamy
13 3.3

Surface Forms

moonstruck positive

Morphology

moonstruck = moon + struck (semi-transparent) = moon + struck

Formed from 'moon' + past-participle 'struck' with an interpretable meaning 'affected by the moon', but the current sense 'dreamily romantic' is somewhat idiomatic.

Etymology

The word moonstruck is made of moon and struck, because in old stories people thought the moon could 'hit' someone's mind and make them act strangely. So, moonstruck now means dreamy, romantic, or distracted, as if the moon has that effect.