Word
vertigo
Phoneticsver·ti·go
US/ˈvɝtɪˌɡoʊ/
UK/vˈɜːtɪɡˌəʊ/
Definition
n. a dizzy feeling where you think you or the things around you are spinning. It often happens when you look down from a very high place.
n. a sensation of spinning or loss of balance, typically caused by looking down from a great height or by disease affecting the inner ear.
Examples
“Looking down from the balcony gave her a sudden attack of vertigo.”
“The hiker had to sit down on the narrow ridge because the sheer drop caused a bout of vertigo.”
“While often used to describe a fear of heights, clinical vertigo involves a vestibular system dysfunction that creates a false sense of rotational movement even when the patient is stationary.”
Examples
simple
“Looking down from the balcony gave her a sudden attack of vertigo.”
contextual
“The hiker had to sit down on the narrow ridge because the sheer drop caused a bout of vertigo.”
complex
“While often used to describe a fear of heights, clinical vertigo involves a vestibular system dysfunction that creates a false sense of rotational movement even when the patient is stationary.”
Usage
Often used with the verbs 'suffer from', 'experience', or 'trigger'.
Pitfall
I have a vertigo
I have vertigo
Vertigo is uncountable and does not take the indefinite article 'a'.
Real-World Examples
“This poorly understood form of migraine is primarily characterized by dizziness, disequilibrium and vertigo — but no headache.” “Usually used to describe a fear of heights, vertigo is also a symptom of a number of other conditions.” “If you have severe vertigo, your symptoms may be constant and last for several days or even longer.” “Vertigo is often attributed to an inner ear infection called vestibular neuritis.” Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vertīgō.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The word in film
Poster: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Vertigo · 1958 · Mystery
- Directed by:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
Alfred Hitchcock directed this classic mystery about a retired police officer who suffers from a paralyzing fear of heights. The title describes the physical sensation he experiences whenever he looks down from a high place during his investigation.