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."
Examples of vertiginous in a Sentence
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 22 June 2025
The pace of this vertiginous home price growth, however, has started slowing down this year thanks to rising inventory.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Rooting for them felt like being on a rollercoaster whose entire path was a vertiginous drop.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
On the one hand, this highlights the vertiginous speed at which the field is developing.
—Luis E. Romero, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for vertiginous
Cite this Entry
“Vertiginous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vertiginous. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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vertiginous
adjective
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