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

Alkermes’ drug is already in early stage trials for fatigue tied to multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, and for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 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

Except for the fatigue, her grandmother looked perfectly ordinary this morning.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

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

Then more than 70 people got out of the vehicles, men dressed in military fatigues and balaclavas, cheering and playing music.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Towards the end of last year, the Kremlin leader was on TV in military fatigues several times, oozing confidence, as he discussed the Ukraine war with his generals.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

Dressed in olive green fatigues, Raúl Castro stood next to Díaz-Canel and a line of aged Cuban officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 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

But before those modest movies became big hits, the first six months of the year boasted plenty of outstanding films to offer viewers fatigued by more of the same.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

It was life as it had always been—only more fatigued.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

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

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

The clandestine Epstein Barr virus - a terrible fatiguing condition for an endurance athlete to suffer - preceded several crashes, most notably a huge somersault after colliding with a traffic island in Italy.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2023

He learned that sandstoning was even more monotonous than sanding the drill, and far more fatiguing.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Related Words

• disable
• exhaust
• jade
• weaken