Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Turning about an axis; revolving or whirling.
  • adjective Affected by vertigo; dizzy.
  • adjective Tending to produce vertigo.
  • adjective Inclined to change quickly; unstable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Turning round; whirling; rotary: as, a vertiginous motion.
  • Affected with vertigo; giddy; dizzy.
  • Apt to turn or change; unstable.
  • Apt to make one giddy; inducing giddiness: as, a vertiginous height.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Turning round; whirling; rotary; revolving.
  • adjective Affected with vertigo; giddy; dizzy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having an aspect of great depth, drawing the eye to look downwards.
  • adjective Inducing a feeling of giddiness, vertigo, dizziness or of whirling.
  • adjective Pertaining to vertigo (in all its meanings).
  • adjective Revolving; rotating; rotatory.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin vertīgō, vertīgin-, a whirling, from vertere, to turn; see version.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • dizzying; affected by vertigo

    October 31, 2007

  • Looking at that word vertiginous is making me dizzy.

    February 14, 2008

  • Take a 'Vertigone' tablet.

    February 14, 2008

  • Used entirely too often in Perdido Street Station by China Miéville. Seriously, not a word you expect to be someone's crutch.

    October 23, 2008

  • adj. Having an aspect of great depth, drawing the eye to look downwards.

    September 2, 2016