fatigue

American  

[fuh-teeg] / fəˈtig /

noun

1. weariness from bodily or mental exertion.

2. a cause of weariness; slow ordeal; exertion.

   the fatigue of driving for many hours.

3. Physiology. temporary diminution of the irritability or functioning of organs, tissues, or cells after excessive exertion or stimulation.

4. Civil Engineering. the weakening or breakdown of material subjected to stress, especially a repeated series of stresses.

5. Also called fatigue duty.  Military.

   1. labor of a generally nonmilitary kind done by soldiers, such as cleaning up an area, digging drainage ditches, or raking leaves.

   2. the state of being engaged in such labor.

      on fatigue.

6. Military. fatigues. see fatigues.

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adjective

1. of or relating to fatigues or any clothing made to resemble them.

   The guerrilla band wore fatigue pants and field jackets.

   She brought fatigue shorts to wear on the hike.

verb (used with object)

• fatigues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fatigued,
  past participle,  past
• fatiguing
  present participle

1. to weary with bodily or mental exertion; exhaust the strength of.

   Endless chatter fatigues me.

   Synonyms:

   enervate, debilitate, tire

2. Civil Engineering. to subject (a material) to fatigue.

verb (used without object)

• fatigues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fatigued,
  past participle,  past
• fatiguing
  present participle

1. to become tired or exhausted.

2. Civil Engineering. (of a material) to undergo fatigue.

fatigue British  

/ ˈfætɪɡəbəl, fəˈtiːɡ /

noun

1. physical or mental exhaustion due to exertion

2. a tiring activity or effort

3. physiol the temporary inability of an organ or part to respond to a stimulus because of overactivity

4. the progressive cracking of a material subjected to alternating stresses, esp vibrations

5. the temporary inability to respond to a situation or perform a function, because of overexposure or overactivity

   compassion fatigue

6. 1. any of the mainly domestic duties performed by military personnel, esp as a punishment

   2. ( as modifier )

      fatigue duties

7. (plural) special clothing worn by military personnel to carry out such duties

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verb

1. to make or become weary or exhausted

2. to crack or break (a material or part) by inducing fluctuating stresses in it, or (of a metal or part) to become weakened or fail as a result of fluctuating stresses

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antifatigue
  adjective
• fatigable
  adjective
• fatigueless
  adjective
• unfatiguing
  adjective
• fatiguingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• fatiguing
  present
• fatigued
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fatigue
  simple
• fatigues
  simple
• have fatigued
  perfect
• has fatigued
  perfect
• am fatiguing
  progressive
• are fatiguing
  progressive
• is fatiguing
  progressive
• have been fatiguing
  perfect progressive
• has been fatiguing
  perfect progressive

Past

• fatigued
  simple
• had fatigued
  perfect
• was fatiguing
  progressive
• were fatiguing
  progressive
• had been fatiguing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fatigue
  simple
• will have fatigued
  perfect
• will be fatiguing
  progressive
• will have been fatiguing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fatigue

First recorded in 1685–95; from French verb fatiguer, from Latin fatīgāre “to tire”; noun derived from the verb

Explanation

Swimming and playing volleyball at the beach can make you tired and pleasantly wiped out, but long hours filling and emptying a wheelbarrow of dirt on a hot day brings fatigue, a far more draining kind of exhaustion. There is a noticeable difference between tiredness and fatigue. You can read a magazine or book before bed and get tired after a while, but if you work on math problems on a computer for a long time, you'll feel fatigue in your eyes, and maybe your brain will start to hurt. The Latin fatīgāre means to "tire out," "to fill to excess or to bursting." Even thinking about the Latin for fatigue brings some mental fatigue.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fatigue fatigues fatigued fatiguing

One consistent signal is quality of life: patients given vitamin C alongside chemotherapy often report less fatigue, less pain and fewer side-effects, such as nausea.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The remarks from Sweetgreen also come amid signs of fast-casual fatigue over the past year and broader caution among consumers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Moderna’s study found that mFlusiva carries a higher risk of fatigue, headache, and other side effects than earlier vaccines.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Spider-Man spun a massive weekend for movie theaters, flouting superhero fatigue and giving a major boost to Hollywood’s summer box office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Olanna poured some palm oil into the cooled mixture and stirred and stirred until her arms stiffened from fatigue.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In an abandoned luxury apartment in the Syrian capital Damascus, armed men dressed in military fatigues sifted through designer clothes and documents.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Born into a poor family in the western province of Artemisa on April 28, 1932, Valdes was instantly recognizable by his white goatee and green military fatigues.

From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026

Standing by the memorial are two masked men in military fatigues with medals pinned to their chests.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

Outside, the streets of Islamabad are flooded with armed security personnel in military fatigues, traffic diversions and police checkpoints.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

There was not a uniform in the group, although a few members of the ambulance team wore camouflage fatigues.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

It remains to be seen if these strategies will work—some voters will be energized; others will become fatigued by it and lose interest.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

"His voice is often unrecognisable, he is fatigued and confused why the British government aren't doing more to get him home safely," she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Fast food chains have struggled for years to win back consumers fatigued with rising prices and unexciting menus—and then there’s Taco Bell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Famed as a digital disruptor, Fedorov was tasked with modernising the army, fatigued after more than four years of fighting back against Russia's full-scale invasion.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

Just when one became fatigued, the other would snort, and off they would go on another round.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Describing the impact of the bombardment, one Tehran resident said that the constant "sound of ongoing blasts is fatiguing" and energy sapping.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026

To compensate, he encourages in-person discussions; failing that, video beats text, even if video meetings are fatiguing and can blunt creativity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

Using this type of control, the researchers found that muscles could be stimulated for more than an hour before fatiguing, while muscles became fatigued after only 15 minutes using FES stimulation.

From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024

Journeying to play against MLS rivals, on the other hand, would add to what is already one of the most arduous and fatiguing travel schedules of any first-division league in the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

It was a fatiguing effort, but on the date set for the ceremony the child was as adept in the ways of the world as any of her sisters.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• disable
• exhaust
• jade
• weaken