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Glite Dictionary
spacy

spacy

8.9
To feel dazed and not able to pay attention
  • adjective
  • /ˈspeɪsi/
  • Informal
translation icon : despistado
  • I'm just spacy tonight, honey, I'm sorry.

I don't feel as neurotic and burnt out and Spacey.

Examples

  • Only about ten of them left, engaged now in quiet and serious hash smoking; spacy jazz emanating from a tape player.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But the band moved right beyond this, oozing into a spacier, groove-laced denouement.

    Blog text (25)

  • Bernie is doing a high, spacy, Pakistani voice.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • ADD they tend to be Spacey, unmotivated, they have sleepy brains.

  • Some people also faint, and I don't mean keel over faint, but get Spacey in their heads.

  • THIS IS SPACY, YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER ATTENDANT.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Moon cha cha means Spacey, spaced out and having to grope like a blind man.

  • We are just deciding what to eat, but I am feeling so Spacey because we've not really eaten apart the cake this morning, so I can't wait for some carbs and cheese.

  • After staying up all night, I felt really spacy during the meeting and struggled to focus.

  • She seemed spacy while daydreaming in class, completely unaware of the teacher's instructions.

Synonyms

disoriented
vsspacy
41 4.1

Unable to think clearly or know where you are

tends to mean a mental stupor or absorption rather than real loss of direction
dazed
vsspacy
40 4.8

Not able to think and act clearly after a shock or when very tired

can also mean inattentive or absorbed without physical shock or injury
woozy
vsspacy
29 5.7

Feeling dizzy and unsteady, as if you might faint

relates more to mental stupefaction or deep absorption, not physical unsteadiness
dopey
vsspacy
  • Informal
3 4.0

Feeling sleepy, slow, and not very alert

can also mean being absent because of thought or drug effects rather than just sleepiness
spaced-out
vsspacy
  • Informal
1 8.7

Not fully paying attention and feeling confused or dreamy

focuses more on being absorbed in one's own thoughts rather than external causes
moony
vsspacy
  • Informal
1 7.3

Looking dreamy and lost in thought, not paying attention

is more like being stupefied or under a druglike influence than pleasant dreaming
spacey
vsspacy
  • Informal
1 7.9

Appearing confused and not paying attention, as if daydreaming

is the alternative spelling used for the same sense
trancelike
vsspacy
1 7.4

You are very still and not aware of things around you

is broader and covers simple inattentiveness or druglike stupefaction
druggy
vsspacy
  • NSFW
8.1

Feeling very sleepy and slow after taking medicine or pills

is broader, also describing inward absorption in thought not only drug effect

Antonyms

alert
137 3.5

A state of being ready and watchful for possible danger

focused
3.0

Giving full attention to one thing

Compounds

spacy smile
  • Informal
8.6

A smile that shows someone is lost in thought

How Dazed

stupefied
1 7.0
dazed
40 4.8
spacy
  • Informal
8.9
absentminded
2 5.9

Surface Forms

spacy positive
spacier comparative
spaciest superlative

Morphology

spacy = space (semi-transparent) = space + y

Formed from 'space' + '-y', but the sense 'dazed/absent-minded' is a metaphorical extension rather than a direct literal meaning.

Etymology

Spacy comes from space, like 'outer space', and from the phrase space out, which gives the image of a mind floating 'far away'. So spacy means 'dazed' or 'not paying attention' because the person seems mentally far away.