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Synonyms

groggy

American  
[grog-ee] / ˈgrɒg i /

adjective

  • groggier,
    comparative
  • groggiest
    superlative
  1. staggering, as from exhaustion or blows.

    a boxer groggy from his opponent's hard left jab.

  2. dazed and weakened, as from lack of sleep.

    Late nights always make me groggy the next morning.

    Synonyms:
    dopey, woozy, lethargic, sluggish
  3. Archaic. drunk; intoxicated.


groggy British  
/ ˈɡrɒɡɪ /

adjective

  1. dazed or staggering, as from exhaustion, blows, or drunkenness

  2. faint or weak

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Adjectives


Etymology

Origin of groggy

First recorded in 1760–70; grog + -y 1


Explanation

If you feel a little confused or foggy-headed you can say that you are groggy. When you first wake up, you might be groggy until you get up and start moving around. The adjective groggy comes from the noun grog, which was what the sailors back in the 1700’s called rum diluted with water. Today, grog is slang for any liquor. To feel groggy is to feel drunk, tipsy, weak or dazed. Boxers who’ve sustained numerous blows to the head can get pretty groggy, and they might stagger around the ring — a sign that they are feeling out of it.

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Vocabulary lists containing groggy

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:

"I don't drink alcohol so it was such a lovely way to spend a morning when others were feeling groggy," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Many of the students looked a bit groggy amid the 7:30 a.m. hoopla, another change to their routine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026

For the first 10 days onboard, I woke up groggy, stuffed and head pounding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

“Some people are really tired and groggy when they go through inspection, and they don’t do a good job explaining their real situation,” he says.

From Slate ● May 26, 2025

In the morning they woke groggy, drunken from so much rest, and Mrs. McCullough had glanced at the clock on her nightstand and realized it was ten thirty.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

I figured that I was just groggier than usual.

From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2018

Hibs looked groggier still as they went 2-0 down.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2017

But for nearly all who have strained to establish a new routine, resetting their alarms for an earlier, groggier morning, the stifled commute from Hoboken to New York City remains uniquely vexing.

From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2012

But he said it was nearly universal that anesthesiologists were being forced to use less familiar medications that leave patients groggier and with a higher risk of nausea and headaches.

From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2010

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