insomniac

[ in-som-nee-ak ]

noun

1. a person who has or experiences insomnia, the inability, especially when chronic, to obtain sufficient sleep, through difficulty in falling or staying asleep:

   Her husband, an insomniac, had at last fallen asleep at the computer, head resting on the keyboard.

adjective

1. having insomnia:

   a nervous, insomniac person.

   Synonyms: insomnolent, wide-awake, wakeful, awake, sleepless

2. of, relating to, or causing insomnia:

   long, torturous, insomniac nights.

Other Words From

• an·ti-in·som·ni·ac adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of insomniac¹

First recorded in 1905–10; insomni(a) + -ac

Example Sentences

Most people are insomniac, mainly because they are overanxious about their sleep.

From Project Gutenberg

Telling a careworn insomniac not to worry is as silly and useless as telling a lovelorn person to stop being in love.

From Project Gutenberg

Consciousness came back in little dribbles like a montage—half reality and half nightmare of the insomniac.

From Project Gutenberg