Word of the Day 11.13.08
ver·tig·i·nous (v
r-t
j
-ns)
adj.
1. Turning about an axis; revolving or whirling.
2. Affected by vertigo; dizzy. See Synonyms at giddy.
3. Tending to produce vertigo: “my small mind contained in earthly human limits, not lost in vertiginous space and elements unknown” Diana Cooper.
4. Inclined to change quickly; unstable.
[From Latin vert
g
, vertgin-, a whirling, from vertere, to turn; see version.]
ver·tigi·nous·ly adv.
ver·tigi·nous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Adj. |
1. |
vertiginous – having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling; “had a dizzy spell”; “a dizzy pinnacle”; “had a headache and felt giddy”; “a giddy precipice”; “feeling woozy from the blow on his head”; “a vertiginous climb up the face of the cliff” |