asleep

[uh-sleep]

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

adverb

in or into a state of sleep: He fell asleep quickly.
into a dormant or inactive state; to rest: Their anxieties were put asleep.
into the state of death.

adjective

sleeping: He is asleep.
dormant; inactive.
(of the foot, hand, leg, etc.) numb.
dead.

Origin of asleep

before 1000; Middle English o slæpe, aslepe, Old English on slǣpe; see a-¹, sleep

Related formshalf-a·sleep, adjectivequa·si-a·sleep, adjective, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for half-asleep

Contemporary Examples

Sally, the American student, was half-asleep at a corner table after a pub crawl.
Rome’s Deadly Pub Crawls Kill American College Student
Barbie Latza Nadeau
March 1, 2014
And he rammed his own rifle one inch from the face of the half-asleep figure.
The Night the SEALS Captured the Butcher of Fallujah
Patrick Robinson
November 11, 2013

Historical Examples

Nasmyth was half-asleep when the cook and the leader of the gang came in.
The Greater Power
Harold Bindloss
I was half-asleep when I heard a new noise under the sledge.
Eben Holden
Irving Bacheller
Fouquet had just retired to his room, still smiling, but more than half-asleep.
The Man in the Iron Mask
Alexandre Dumas, Pere
Allan was half-asleep, or what did instead, in one of his abstracted moods.
The Rose Garden Husband
Margaret Widdemer
His words, though only muttered, awaken Cypriano, still only half-asleep.
Gaspar the Gaucho
Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for half-asleep

half-asleep

adjective

neither fully asleep nor awake

asleep

adjective (postpositive)

in or into a state of sleep
in or into a dormant or inactive state
(of limbs, esp when the blood supply to them has been restricted) numb; lacking sensation
euphemistic dead

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for half-asleep

asleep

adj.

c.1200, aslepe, o slæpe, from Old English on slæpe (see sleep). The parallel form on sleep continued until c.1550. Of limbs, "numb through stoppage of circulation," from late 14c. Meaning "inattentive, off guard" is from mid-14c.

half-asleep in Medicine

asleep

(ə-slēp′)

adj.

In a state of sleep; sleeping.
Numb, as of a limb.
Dead.

adv.

In or into a state of sleep.
In or into a state of apathy or indifference.
Into the sleep of the dead.

Idioms and Phrases with half-asleep

asleep

In addition to the idiom beginning with asleep

asleep at the switch

also see:

fall asleep

asleep

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Examples from the Web for half-asleep

Contemporary Examples

Sally, the American student, was half-asleep at a corner table after a pub crawl.

And he rammed his own rifle one inch from the face of the half-asleep figure.

Historical Examples

Nasmyth was half-asleep when the cook and the leader of the gang came in.

I was half-asleep when I heard a new noise under the sledge.

Fouquet had just retired to his room, still smiling, but more than half-asleep.

Allan was half-asleep, or what did instead, in one of his abstracted moods.

His words, though only muttered, awaken Cypriano, still only half-asleep.

half-asleep

asleep

Word Origin and History for half-asleep

asleep

adj.

asleep

Idioms and Phrases with half-asleep

asleep

Origin of asleep