Meanings
nounvertigo (countable and uncountable, plural vertigos or vertigoes)
plural vertigos · plural vertigoes
- broadlycountableuncountableA disordered or imbalanced state of mind or things analogous to physical vertigo; mental giddiness or dizziness.
Vertigo invades when the world we thought we knew no longer holds. The known world is crumbling.
2023, Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Penguin, →ISBN, page 342 - countableuncountableThe act of whirling round and round; rapid rotation.
- countableuncountableA snail of the genus Vertigo.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*wert-
- Proto-Indo-European*wértetor
- Proto-Italic*wertō
- Latinvertō
- Latinvertīgō
- Englishvertigo
Borrowed from Latin vertīgō.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἴλιγξ
- ἴλιγξ (ílinx)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Arabic دَوْخَة, دُوَار
- دَوْخَة (dawḵa)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- دُوَار (duwār)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- سَدَر (sadar)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- سَدَارَة (sadāra)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Bulgarian шемет, замайване
- шемет (šemet)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- замайване (zamajvane)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- световъртеж (svetovărtež)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Chinese Mandarin 頭暈 /头晕, 眩暈 /眩晕
- 頭暈 /头晕 (tóuyūn)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- 眩暈 /眩晕 (xuànyùn)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- 頭昏 /头昏 (tóuhūn)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Czech závrať
- závraťsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Danish svimmelhed
- svimmelhedsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Dutch duizeligheid
- duizeligheidsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Esperanto vertigo
- vertigosensation of whirling and loss of balance
Finnish huimaus
- huimaussensation of whirling and loss of balance
French vertige, labyrinthite
- vertigesensation of whirling and loss of balance
- labyrinthitesensation of whirling and loss of balance
German Schwindel
- Schwindelsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Greek ίλιγγος, ζαλάδα
- ίλιγγος (ílingos)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- ζαλάδα (zaláda)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- ζάλη (záli)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Hindi चक्कर
- चक्कर (cakkar)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Hungarian szédülés
- szédüléssensation of whirling and loss of balance
Icelandic svimi
- svimisensation of whirling and loss of balance
Italian vertigine
- vertiginesensation of whirling and loss of balance
Japanese 目眩, くらくら
- 目眩 (memai)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
- くらくら (kurakura)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Korean 현기증
- 현기증 (hyeon'gijeung)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Māori puano
- puanosensation of whirling and loss of balance
Norwegian vertigo, svimmelhet
- vertigo, svimmelhetsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Persian سرگیجه
- سرگیجه (sargije)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Polish zawroty głowy
- zawroty głowysensation of whirling and loss of balance
Portuguese oura, tontura
- ourasensation of whirling and loss of balance
- tonturasensation of whirling and loss of balance
- vertigemsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Russian головокруже́ние
- головокруже́ние (golovokružénije)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Slovak závrat
- závratsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Spanish vértigo, mareo
- vértigosensation of whirling and loss of balance
- mareosensation of whirling and loss of balance
Swedish svindel, yrsel
- svindel, yrselsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Tagalog lula
- lulasensation of whirling and loss of balance
Urdu چکر
- چکر (cakkar)sensation of whirling and loss of balance
Vietnamese xoay xẩm, chóng mặt
- xoay xẩmsensation of whirling and loss of balance
- chóng mặtsensation of whirling and loss of balance
Welsh pendro
- pendrosensation of whirling and loss of balance
Cite this entry
APA
vertigo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertigo
MLA
“vertigo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertigo. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vertigo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertigo.
Source: vertigo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.