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moony

moony

4 7.3
Looking dreamy and lost in thought, not paying attention
  • adjective
  • /ˈmuːni/
  • Informal
: soñador
  • During the lecture, he stared out the window with a moony gaze, completely ignoring the presentation.
  • moony eyes
  • moony-eyed
  • moony face

A mild and moony interlude, happy when alone and not myself.

Examples

  • A mild and moony interlude, happy when alone and not myself.

  • On a moony, listless

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Really, I was just so moony looking over at my beautifully Frenched rack that I missed some details.

    Blog text (12)
  • Maybe if they had more moony-eyed duets?

    Blog text (16)
  • Beth, now we've been moony-eyed since Istanbul, why fight it?

  • At least these expeditions to new watering holes took Sally out of range of Sam, with his great, moony sheep's eyes always on her.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • There was that sense that the moment had to be seized, and so we seized it, in the moony way eighteen-year-olds do, with promises to die if we ever stop loving someone, even believing it.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • She looked at him with a moony expression, lost in thoughts of their future together.

  • After reading the romantic poem, she had a moony smile, dreaming about love.

Synonyms

dreamy
vsmoony
5 3.3

Looks lost in thought and not paying attention

is more clearly distracted and shows a distant, absent-minded mood
spaced-out
vsmoony
  • Informal
4 8.7

Not fully paying attention and feeling confused or dreamy

is a milder, more poetic absent-mindedness rather than extreme mental blankness
spacey
vsmoony
  • Informal
4 7.9

Appearing confused and not paying attention, as if daydreaming

is dreamily absent-minded without implying confusion or drugged daze
languorous
vsmoony
2 8.6

Feeling pleasantly slow and without much energy

is about distracted, absent-minded expression rather than low energy relaxation
swoony
vsmoony
  • Informal
1 8.0

Feeling faint and dreamy because of strong feelings of love

is absent-minded from dreamy thought rather than emotional faintness
moonstruck
vsmoony
  • Literature
1 7.9

Feeling dreamy and romantic because of love, or acting strangely during a full moon

is broader, meaning simple dreamy absent-mindedness not just romantic feeling
spacy
vsmoony
  • Informal
1 8.9

To feel dazed and not able to pay attention

is more gently distracted and lacks strong stupefied or drugged sense
drifty
vsmoony
  • Informal
1 7.8

Easily distracted and not paying full attention

is more about having a dreamy, visibly absent-minded expression
daydreamy
vsmoony
1 5.2

Having a soft, hazy look that seems slightly blurred

describes a person who is noticeably distracted rather than a visual quality
moonish
vsmoony
  • Archaic
9.3

Being dreamy and often lost in romantic thoughts

is similar but focuses on simple absent-minded distraction rather than romance
woolgathering
vsmoony
  • Archaic
9.0

Lost in daydreams and not paying attention

is the same mental distraction but used more as an adjective for mood

Antonyms

638 3.0

Giving full attention to one thing

135 3.5

A state of being ready and watchful for possible danger

Compounds

moony expression
  • Informal
1 8.1

A dreamy, absent-minded look that shows someone is lost in thought

How Dreamy

lovestruck
1 4.8
moony
  • Informal
4 7.3
dreamy
5 3.3

Surface Forms

moony positive

Morphology

moony = moon (semi-transparent) = moon + y

The suffix '-y' typically forms adjectives, but the metaphorical meaning of 'dreamy or absent-minded' isn't directly derived from 'moon'.

Etymology

The word moony comes from moon plus the ending -y, and people long thought the moon made people dreamy or act strange, so moony means 'dreamy' or 'absent-minded'.