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
Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 28 June 2024
New multilateral agreements akin to the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris agreement on climate change, or the Trans-Pacific Partnership were impossible, given the vertiginous swings in U.S. foreign policy.
—Ben Rhodes, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2024
Comprising rows of greenery that sloped upward into a vertiginous pyramid, the plants sprouted over the course of the exhibitions and were eventually given away to visitors.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 17 June 2024
Occasionally, Galactus — who most often appears as a towering man wearing a vertiginous helmet with two striking antennae — has even worked with the Fantastic Four (and the Avengers) to defeat other enemies.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 May 2024
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“Vertiginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vertiginous. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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vertiginous
adjective
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