restless
Americanadjective
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characterized by or showing inability to remain at rest.
a restless mood.
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unquiet or uneasy, as a person, the mind, or the heart.
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never at rest; perpetually agitated or in motion.
the restless sea.
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without rest; without restful sleep.
a restless night.
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unceasingly active; averse to quiet or inaction, as persons.
a restless crowd.
adjective
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unable to stay still or quiet
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ceaselessly active or moving
the restless wind
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worried; anxious; uneasy
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not restful; without repose
a restless night
Other Word Forms
- restlessly adverb
- restlessness noun
Etymology
Origin of restless
First recorded before before 1000; Middle English restles, Old English restlēas; rest 1, -less
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Against that backdrop, Labour MPs are increasingly restless.
From BBC
Xi Jinping, presiding over the world’s second-largest economy, has shown the opposite: that prosperity alone cannot satisfy what St. Augustine called humanity’s “restless heart.”
Wittgenstein’s desire to say the last word in philosophy seems in part driven by an intense desire to still his restless mind.
He described Americans as having a “restless” spirit of enterprise, with many frequently changing jobs or moving west in search of new opportunities.
One envisions the restless governor, facing the end of his term, sitting in the Capitol and crossing days off his official calendar as he longingly gazes toward 2028.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
