topsy turvy
topsy turvy is the alternative form of topsy-turvy.
Meaning of topsy-turvy
Adverb
topsy-turvy (comparative more topsy-turvy, superlative most topsy-turvy)
- Backwards or upside down; also, having been overturned or upset.
- Thou toyl'ſt in perrill, and the vvindie ſtorme, / Doth topſide-turuey toſſe thee as thou floteſt.[1594, Robert Garnier, translated by Thomas Kid [i.e., Thomas Kyd], Pompey the Great, His Faire Corneliaes Tragedie: […], London: […] [James Roberts] for Nicholas Ling, published 1595, →OCLC, act I...
- Synonyms:
- inverted, reversed, downside up, reverse, up so down, upside down, upsidown, upsy-down
- Not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner; chaotically.
- Diuilliſh it is to deſtroy a cittie, but more then diuilliſhe, to euert citties, to betraye countreies, to cause ſeruaunts to kyll their maiſters, parentes theyr children, children their parentes, wiues their huſbandes, and to turne all things topſy turuy, and yet it doth ſo, as ſhalbe declared.1576, T[homas] R[ogers], “Of Loue”, in A Philosophicall Discourse, Entituled, The Anatomie of the Minde. […], London: […] I[ohn] C[harlewood] for Andrew Maunsell, […], →OCLC, folio 22, recto
Forms of topsy turvy
| Adverb | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more topsy turvy |
| superlative | most topsy turvy |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more topsy turvy |
| superlative | most topsy turvy |
| Noun | |
| plural | topsy turvies |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | topsy turvies |
| third-person singular present | topsy turvys |
| present participle | topsy turvying |
| past participle | topsy turvied |
| past | topsy turvied |
| past participle | topsy turvyed |
| past | topsy turvyed |
Questions about topsy turvy
- What is topsy turvy the alternative form of?
- Topsy turvy is the alternative form of topsy-turvy.
Words near topsy turvy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: topsy turvy (page history and authors); topsy-turvy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “topsy turvy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/topsy_turvy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.