What does flightiest mean?
Flightiest is the superlative of flighty, meaning the most capricious, impulsive, or mentally unsettled. It is most often applied to a person whose plans, opinions, or loyalties change abruptly, and it can carry a mildly dismissive tone: describing someone as the flightiest member of a group suggests that their behavior is unreliable rather than merely unconventional. The word also has the older sense of extreme mental instability or deliriousness, although that sense is less common in everyday use. Because it is an inflected superlative, flightiest compares people or qualities within a group: one person is flightier than another, but the flightiest is the most flighty. In ordinary English, the expression is informal to mildly literary and should not be taken as a technical aviation term. It is useful when the point is not simply that someone has unreasonable ideas, but that they are the least settled or predictable member of a group.
adjectiveThe most flighty: capricious, impulsive, fickle, or mentally unsettled. It may also describe the most erratic or impractical member of a group.
- Most given to capricious ideas, abrupt changes of plan, or erratic behavior.
- Most mentally unsettled or delirious.
"Of all the candidates, she was the flightiest, changing her position whenever the discussion shifted."
"Of all the candidates, she was the flightiest, changing her position whenever the discussion shifted."
"Among the witches' plans for a peaceful world, hers was the flightiest."
The flightiest plans may have more destinations than the traveler has arrival times.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does flightiest come from?
Flightiest is formed by adding the superlative suffix -iest to flighty, while flighty itself combines flight with the suffix -y. Flight traces to Old English flyht and belongs to the same Germanic word family as modern English fly and flee. The successive forms flightier and flightiest developed by applying the standard comparative and superlative endings.
Related word forms
How flightiest is actually used
This is primarily an informal or mildly literary word. It is often dismissive when applied to a person, suggesting unreliability, impulsiveness, or an impractical temperament; in older usage, it can also mean mentally unstable or delirious.
Easily confused with flightiest
Flighty is the base adjective, while flightiest is its superlative form, meaning the most flighty.
Flightier is the comparative form, while flightiest is the superlative form.