dot·ty
ˈdä-tē 
dottier; dottiest
1
: not mentally sound
also
: amiably eccentric
There's something delightful about meeting a 95-year-old who is as sharp as a tack. … That's way better than being known as the dotty old auntie or uncle … —
Carole Levy
Carole Levy 2
: being obsessed or infatuated
They met at school as teenagers and have been dotty about each other ever since.—Lynda Lee-Potter
Lynda Lee-Potter3
: amusingly absurd : ridiculous
dotty ideas
: composed of or marked by dots
Synonyms
Adjective (1)
- absurd
- asinine
- balmy
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- cockeyed
- crackpot
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- dippy
- fatuous
- featherheaded
- fool
- foolish
- half-baked
- half-witted
- harebrained
- inept
- insane
- jerky
- kooky
- kookie
- loony
- looney
- lunatic
- lunkheaded
- mad
- nonsensical
- nutty
- preposterous
- sappy
- screwball
- senseless
- silly
- simpleminded
- stupid
- tomfool
- unwise
- wacky
- whacky
- weak-minded
- witless
- zany
Examples of dotty in a Sentence
Adjective (1)
dotty relatives that we have to endure only on Thanksgiving
Recent Examples on the Web
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Clever dialogue and a feast of visual gags make this dotty comedy a sure-fire Halloween winner.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Zoe and her dotty, irrepressible mother, Cath (Emma Thompson), are also on board for the festivities, which will be the centerpiece of Zoe’s documentary.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023
The plots revolve around the cultural friction between the women and the roster of dotty customers who parade through the place.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2022
Peter’s aunt and the IRL empress in historical Russia, here a delightfully dotty non-empress with weird fertility advice!) brings Catherine a frog to sit on her stomach to help with the pregnancy.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2021
Anyone who was indignant on behalf of Close was immediately disarmed by Colman’s charmingly dotty acceptance speech.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Joanne and Morgan’s dotty mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), dabbles in the metaphysical to constant mockery; their gay father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), is rarely able to enjoy his own happiness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Clever dialogue and a feast of visual gags make this dotty comedy a sure-fire Halloween winner.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Zoe and her dotty, irrepressible mother, Cath (Emma Thompson), are also on board for the festivities, which will be the centerpiece of Zoe’s documentary.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023
The plots revolve around the cultural friction between the women and the roster of dotty customers who parade through the place.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2022
Peter’s aunt and the IRL empress in historical Russia, here a delightfully dotty non-empress with weird fertility advice!) brings Catherine a frog to sit on her stomach to help with the pregnancy.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2021
Anyone who was indignant on behalf of Close was immediately disarmed by Colman’s charmingly dotty acceptance speech.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near dotty
Cite this Entry
“Dotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dotty. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share