sleepless
Americanadjective
-
without sleep.
a sleepless night.
-
watchful; alert.
sleepless devotion to duty.
-
always active.
the sleepless ocean.
adjective
-
without sleep or rest
a sleepless journey
-
unable to sleep
-
always watchful or alert
-
poetic always active or moving
the sleepless tides
Other Word Forms
- sleeplessly adverb
- sleeplessness noun
Etymology
Origin of sleepless
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; sleep, -less
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.
Sitting in her armchair, Angela glances up towards her son's photographs and says: "He's certainly given me a few sleepless nights, I can tell you. It's a wonder I'm not white!"
From BBC
This work requires stealth and sleepless nights to stalk poachers in the dark.
From BBC
Mia admits that, for the first time, the enormity of the detailing has caused sleepless nights.
From BBC
"It also normalises library use and, even if the admin involved in getting a library card isn't vast, it's one more thing to do when you're juggling nappies and sleepless nights."
From BBC
"The family broke. They are falling apart," his brother-in-law Rabbi Mendel Kastel told reporters after a sleepless night.
From BBC
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.
