vertiginous
adjective
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It is generally necessary to avoid crowded rooms and the vertiginous influence of the dance, one 19th-century medical work advised. We're not sure what condition this advice was aimed at, but it may well have been "vertigo," a disordered state characterized by whirling dizziness. "Vertiginous," from the Latin vertiginosus, is the adjective form of "vertigo," which in Latin means a turning or whirling action. Both words descend from the Latin verb vertere, meaning "to turn." ("Vertiginous" and "vertigo" are just two of an almost dizzying array of "vertere" offspring, from "adverse" to "vortex.") The "dizzying" sense of "vertiginous" is often used figuratively, as in "vertiginous medical discoveries may drastically change life in the 21st century."
Synonyms
Examples of vertiginous in a Sentence
Jim Shepard, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
The vertiginous rise of egg prices is undermining President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to bring down the cost of living—and specifically the cost of the beloved staple.
—Dan Greene, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2025
The vertiginous rise of egg prices is undermining President Donald Trump's campaign promise to bring down the cost of living—and specifically the cost of the beloved staple—once elected, as experts say prices will likely go even higher throughout the year.
—Joel Thayer, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
Yet something in the book is profoundly destabilizing, turning it into a wonderfully vertiginous read.
—Ilana Masad, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near vertiginous
Cite this Entry
“Vertiginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vertiginous. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.
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vertiginous
adjective
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