heady

adjective

ˈhe-dē 

headier; headiest

1

a

: willful, rash

heady opinions

b

: violent, impetuous

2

a

: tending to intoxicate or make giddy or elated

heady wine

being in such distinguished company was a heady experience

b

: giddy, exhilarated

heady with his success

c

: rich

a heady sauce

a heady variety

d

: impressive

a man of heady accomplishments

3

a

: marked by or showing good judgment : shrewd, intelligent

b

: intellectually stimulating or demanding

headily

ˈhe-də-lē 

adverb

headiness

ˈhe-dē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• ecstatic
• elated
• elevated
• enrapt
• enraptured
• entranced
• euphoric
• exhilarated
• giddy
• intoxicated
• rapt
• rapturous
• rhapsodic
• rhapsodical

Examples of heady in a Sentence

The plane soared to heady heights.

They were heady with their newfound success.

Recent Examples on the Web

Indeed, superhero cinema seems to be trimming a lot of the fat that’s contributed to the genre’s loss of gloss from its heady days of late-2010s. —Mark Hughes, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

This is about these films finding distributors who believe in them, but the heady days of all-night auctions are for now as dead as disco. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 22 Feb. 2025

Even though the recent gains for gold have been heady, the price has been climbing for the past few years. —Eshe Nelson, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025

For anyone with sharp recollections of the heady rush of first love and the obsessive fixation on one person to the exclusion of all else, Dreams will strike chords. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for heady

• ready
• reddi
• steady
• teddy
• thready
• already
• unsteady

Kids Definition

heady

adjective

ˈhed-ē 

headier; headiest

1

: willful sense 1, rash

2

: likely to make one giddy

heady wine

a heady height

headily

ˈhed-ə-lē 

adverb

headiness

ˈhed-ē-nəs 

noun