What does trippy mean?
Trippy is an informal adjective describing something that has a psychedelic, hallucinatory, or surreal quality. The word can refer to experiences involving altered perception, especially those associated with psychedelic substances, but it is also used more broadly for visual art, music, dreams, environments, or situations that make ordinary reality seem strange or unstable. In these extended uses, “trippy” need not imply the use of drugs; a peculiar color scheme, distorted imagery, or disorienting sound can be described as trippy. The word became especially prominent during the psychedelic era of the 1960s and has since remained common in discussions of counterculture, alternative music, and experimental art. Because it is informal, it is better suited to descriptions of culture and experience than to formal technical writing. Its force comes from suggesting not merely oddness, but a change in the way the world is perceived.
adjectiveCharacterized by an altered, hallucinatory, or surreal quality that seems to distort perception or make ordinary things seem strange. It may describe psychedelic experiences, artwork, music, or surroundings, without necessarily implying the use of drugs.
- Characterized by hallucinogenic or mind-altering effects, especially resembling a psychedelic experience.
- Strange, surreal, eccentric, or disorienting in a way that makes familiar things seem unfamiliar.
"The band filled the dimly lit stage with swirling projections and trippy, echoing sounds."
"The old film has a wonderfully trippy sequence in which the furniture slowly begins to breathe."
"Her latest album combines folk melodies with trippy electronics and surreal visual effects."
In the psychedelic era, trippy became a way to describe anything that made the mind feel newly unfamiliar with ordinary reality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trippy come from?
Trippy was formed from trip, using the familiar suffix -y. It developed during the 1960s alongside psychedelic culture, when trip was already being used for an altered state of consciousness or an experience that changes one's perception. The base word trip is attested in English much earlier for movements and journeys; trippy is therefore a modern derivative that specialized the idea of a journey into something associated with unusual or altered perception.
Related word forms
How trippy is actually used
Trippy is informal and strongly associated with psychedelic culture, experimental art, and music. It can describe a drug-induced experience, but it is also commonly used figuratively for anything surreal, bizarre, or perceptually unusual.
Easily confused with trippy
Trippy means psychedelic, surreal, or mind-altering, whereas trip usually means a journey or an outing.