weary
Americanadjective
-
wearier,
comparative
-
weariest
superlative
-
physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain, etc.; fatigued; tired.
weary eyes;
a weary brain.
- Antonyms:
- energetic
-
characterized by or causing fatigue.
a weary journey.
-
impatient or dissatisfied with something (often followed byof ).
weary of excuses.
-
characterized by or causing impatience or dissatisfaction; tedious; irksome.
a weary wait.
- Antonyms:
- interesting
verb (used with or without object)
-
wearies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wearied,
past participle, past
-
wearying
present participle
-
to make or become weary; fatigue or tire.
The long hours of work have wearied me.
- Synonyms:
- exhaust
-
to make or grow impatient or dissatisfied with something or at having too much of something (often followed byof ).
The long drive had wearied us of desert scenery.
We had quickly wearied at such witless entertainment.
- Antonyms:
- interest
adjective
-
tired or exhausted
-
causing fatigue or exhaustion
-
caused by or suggestive of weariness
a weary laugh
-
(postpositive; often foll by of or with) discontented or bored, esp by the long continuance of something
verb
-
to make or become weary
-
to make or become discontented or impatient, esp by the long continuance of something
Synonym Usage
See tired 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
wearinessnoun
-
outwearyverb (used with object)
-
self-wearyadjective
-
unwearyadjective
-
unwearyingadjective
-
wearyingadjective
-
wearilyadverb
-
wearyinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wearysimple
-
weariessimple
-
have weariedperfect
-
has weariedperfect
-
am wearyingprogressive
-
are wearyingprogressive
-
is wearyingprogressive
-
have been wearyingperfect progressive
-
has been wearyingperfect progressive
Past
-
weariedsimple
-
had weariedperfect
-
was wearyingprogressive
-
were wearyingprogressive
-
had been wearyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weary
First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English wery, Old English wērig; cognate with Old Saxon -wōrig; akin to Old English wōrian “to crumble, break down, totter”; (verb) Middle English werien, Old English wēr(i)gian, derivative of the adjective
Explanation
Weary as an adjective means "very tired or worn out," like weary students who finished a long week of studying and taking tests. Weary comes from the Old English word werig, meaning "tired." It can also describe being extremely bored and sick of something, like on a long drive, you might grow weary of your father's singing voice. As a verb, weary means "to exhaust or wear out," like when the children you are babysitting weary you with their game of running away every time you tell them to get ready to leave the park.
Vocabulary lists containing weary
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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.
See Examples For:
Cubans are not shy about admitting that they are increasingly weary of the constant disruptions to daily life.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Judging by some of the weary facial expressions from those undertaking this training, the same thought has crossed their minds.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
He had grown weary of doing performance reviews and changing his passwords.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
The main inflation barometer used to set U.S. interest rates rose topped 4% in May for the first time in three years — but price relief might be finally on the way for weary consumers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Then he leaned on the stand, suddenly seeming old and weary.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
As time passes, you see two smiling, handsome young men change, gradually appearing wearier as war strips away their innocence.
From BBC ● May 25, 2023
And the seemingly endless restrictions leave more ordinary Chinese people wearier by the day.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2022
Kyrgios took the final two sets in 74 minutes while Medvedev looked wearier with every point.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 5, 2022
Officials across the U.S. are again weighing how and whether to impose mask mandates as COVID-19 infections soar and the American public grows ever wearier of pandemic-related restrictions.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2022
Dumbledore sighed again, and he looked older, and wearier, than ever.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
That it happens this way every year, offering an annual day of hope to even the weariest baseball cities, remains somehow powerful.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2023
The sun has barely set on a roaring summer concert season and a busy fall slate ensures there will be no rest for even the weariest local music fans.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
The under-fire Steve Bruce must have met news of Ronaldo’s return with the weariest of sighs.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 11, 2021
Cruise seems weariest of all, flogging outdated merchandise he can’t even pretend to believe in.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2017
Do I take both before dinner, which is usually about 7:30, leaving an unbroken two-and-a-half-hour stretch when I’m weariest, between 8:30 and 11:00?
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
But numerous media reports suggest that he has been marginalised as Trump wearies of being controlled and seeks to cut loose.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 30, 2018
“Joy wearies me, and I hate happiness when I catch a glimpse of it in a human expression,” he told Newsweek in 1963.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2017
Despite the technical difficulty of writing almost entirely in dialogue, Compton-Burnett rarely wearies or falters.
From Time Magazine Archive
Richard wearies of making spaniel eyes at the termagant widow and rejects her quite brutally when she decides he'll do.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of a truth this wearies me; I will be a nun no more.
From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power
This was not something you could have accused her of over the summer, and was perhaps a sign of a body and mind wearied by nine months on the road.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025
She recounted to The Washington Post in 2011 how she had already wearied of the rigors of the road before her first stroke.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024
There’s even the odd love song, in which Williams’ grizzled voice shades in the heartbreak with wearied affection.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024
Some experts want to maintain and expand wastewater surveillance to stay on top of future waves at state and local levels, even as the public has wearied of COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Laurie went off two stairs at a time, and Jo laid her wearied head down on Beth’s little brown hood, which no one had thought of moving from the table where she left it.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
At first it was staggering, the boom, boom, boom, watching both players crack heavy serve after heavy serve, but it started to become a little wearying, like watching an extended game of Whac-A-Mole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Bram, his husband, has a demanding job at a museum in Rotterdam and Arnold’s bitterness has grown wearying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
That’s not to say that “Our Little Secret” isn’t enjoyable all on its own, only that it’s become wearying to watch Lohan confined to the limits of a holiday movie made for a streamer.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024
They contend that the women in Cassatt’s paintings could only be accused of idleness by people who are ignorant about the wearying demands of child care and housekeeping.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
‘No! For I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to; the long explanations needed by the young are wearying.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
