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Synonyms

restlessness

American  
[rest-lis-nis] / ˈrɛst lɪs nɪs /

noun

  1. the inability to remain still or at rest, or a mood characterized by this.

    To overcome younger students’ restlessness and anxiety, one expert suggests class routines, role play activities, and other calming exercises.

  2. the fact of being unable to sleep or find a comfortable position in which to sleep.

    I haven't been sleeping so well lately—a mix of restlessness and staying up too late watching movies.

  3. discontent or dissatisfaction that drives one to keep looking for solutions, alternatives, or new things.

    We are incomplete beings yearning to be made whole, dogged by a sense of unease and restlessness.

  4. perpetual movement.

    Growing up on the coast of Sydney as he did, his music is influenced by the restlessness of the ocean.

Etymology

Origin of restlessness

restless ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

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.

By filtering such a common feeling through a strange and delightfully unsettling narrative lens, “By Design” contends with our modern restlessness in far more memorable fashion than many big-budget, big-idea films of the last year.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026

"When access is disrupted, some young people may initially experience irritability, restlessness, or a sense of social disconnection… not because the platform itself is essential, but because a familiar coping mechanism has been removed."

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

Depression was assessed through a questionnaire asking about depressed mood, disinterest, restlessness or lethargy during the previous two weeks.

From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2025

The up-tempo tune depicts life growing up in a dreary community bereft of imagination or spirit and hammers home the record’s emotional restlessness: “Nothing but the dead and dying back in my little town.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

When Reba was two years old, Pilate was seized with restlessness.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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.