sleepless

[sleep-lis]

adjective

1. without sleep.

   a sleepless night.

2. watchful; alert.

   sleepless devotion to duty.

3. always active.

   the sleepless ocean.

sleepless

/ ˈsliːplɪs /

adjective

1. without sleep or rest

   a sleepless journey

2. unable to sleep

3. always watchful or alert

4. poetic,  always active or moving

   the sleepless tides

Other Word Forms

• sleeplessly adverb
• sleeplessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleepless¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; sleep, -less

Example Sentences

"These results, they come from hard work in the dark, a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out how to master my craft and be more consistent with my jump shot."

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Figuring out how to absorb these costs has led to “more than a few sleepless nights,” she said.

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"This is where I can say hard work truly pays off; the sleepless nights and the crying at times."

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Patients describe sleepless nights, compulsive news checking and physical agitation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I've been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he's that good," Guernsey boss Tony Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey at the time.

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Related Words

• fidgety