What does faddy mean?
Faddy is an informal adjective describing someone who develops intense but short-lived enthusiasms, particularly for foods, diets, or pastimes. A faddy child, for instance, may insist on eating only one or two familiar dishes for weeks before abruptly abandoning them. The word can also describe things themselves — faddy diets, faddy gadgets — meaning they owe their popularity to passing fashion rather than genuine or lasting merit. It carries a mildly disapproving connotation, suggesting caprice or superficiality, and is heard most frequently in British English, where 'faddy eater' is a standard phrase for a picky child. The word derives from 'fad', a nineteenth-century coinage of uncertain origin meaning a craze or passing enthusiasm. Related forms include the noun 'fad' itself, the adjective 'faddish', and the adverb 'faddishly'. Faddy is useful precisely because it captures the human tendency to embrace novelty briefly and discard it, a pattern as visible in Victorian hobbies as in today's viral food trends.
Having fleeting, changeable enthusiasms; inclined to follow fads, especially with regard to food.
"He's always been faddy about vegetables, refusing anything green on his plate."
Most commonly applied to children's eating habits in British English.
(Of a thing, such as a diet or product) based on or appealing to passing fashion rather than enduring value.
"The magazine dismissed the detox tea as just another faddy product."
Often used dismissively by critics or experts toward health and lifestyle trends.
A faddy eater doesn't hate food — they just love it in three-week installments.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of faddy
Faddy is formed from the noun 'fad', meaning a craze or short-lived enthusiasm, combined with the adjectival suffix '-y'. The word emerged in the mid-nineteenth century alongside 'fad' itself, which first appeared in American English around the 1830s–1840s with uncertain ultimate origin, though it may be a clipped form of 'faddle' (as in 'fiddle-faddle'). As 'fad' spread through both British and American English, so did its derivatives, including 'faddish' and 'faddy'.
Related word forms
How faddy is actually used
Informal and often mildly disapproving when applied to people, suggesting fickleness or fussiness. Very common in British English, especially regarding children's eating habits ('a faddy eater'). When applied to diets or products, it implies superficiality and lack of scientific or lasting merit.
Easily confused with faddy
'Faddy' typically describes a person with fleeting enthusiasms or food with passing appeal, while 'faddish' more often describes the trend or style itself as characteristic of a fad.