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

This can lead to severe shortness of breath, fatigue, and repeated trips to the hospital.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

"People are realising constant swiping isn't actually leading to real-world dates, which only heightens dating fatigue," said Ryan.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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

A second wave of AI matchmaking startups—including Amata, Known and the forthcoming venture from Hinge founder Justin McLeod—is taking aim at customer swipe fatigue, Molly Reinmann writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

In the summer of 1862, he suffered from fever, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, and jaundice, losing more than forty pounds.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Some people waiting in food lines say they miss the leadership of a man who bestrode the island in his trademark green military fatigues and whose memory still looms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Meeting in Ankara with Sharaa, who has traded his guerrilla fatigues for a suit, Trump said, "He's doing an unbelievable job in unifying Syria. What a job he's doing."

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

TV footage showed police commandos in fatigues entering the Senate building in Manila early on Wednesday evening, with anti-riot policemen with shields and helmets surrounding the perimeter.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Dunne died aged 99 in 2019, but Haywood waited patiently this week to present Harry a photo of her mother alongside him, in his army fatigues.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

Typical JP: His face was blacked, which was a good cover for the massive purple bruise around his eye, and he was dressed in combat fatigues with a camouflaged bucket hat that shaded his eyes.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Rescuers have brought in heavy machinery to help remove large sections of roofs and walls and are visibly fatigued after days of grueling work.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

Tracy Austin, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1979, added: "Great movement from Coco Gauff. To me she looks just as fit as she was at the start of the match. Muchova looking a little fatigued."

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

“One would expect the market to become increasingly fatigued by the deluge of headlines and the back-and-forth,” analysts at ING say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

In the sconces’ flickering light, he noted Kamau looked even more fatigued than usual.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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

There is a relentless, inescapable and, sometimes fatiguing quality to this Swift-Kelce monocultural vortex.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 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

Fifteen minutes of dicey, fatiguing crampon work brought me safely to the bottom of the incline, where I easily located my pack, and another ten minutes after that I was in camp myself.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• disable
• exhaust
• jade
• weaken