sleepwalking

[sleep-waw-king]

noun

1. the act or state of walking, eating, or performing other motor acts while asleep, of which one is unaware upon awakening; a condition or disorder characterized by this.

   If the sleepwalking occurs often, the healthcare provider may do tests to rule out other disorders such as seizures.

2. the state or condition of acting seemingly without awareness, feeling, aim, or will.

   Mindfulness is a commitment to staying awake to reality in each moment—avoiding any sleepwalking through life.

adjective

1. walking while asleep; relating to this state or condition.

   It is unwise to try waking up a sleepwalking child, as this may result in distress for the child.

2. acting seemingly without awareness, feeling, aim, or will.

   Last night Nigeria easily beat the sleepwalking UK team, now on the brink of elimination.

Other Word Forms

• sleepwalker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleepwalking¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; sleep + walking

Example Sentences

The setting is still a Swiss alpine hamlet, but the villagers are all members of some puritanical sect and its sleepwalking heroine, Amina, has longings that transcend its limits.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

France isn’t sleepwalking toward a fiscal and economic crisis so much as running headlong into one.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was so hard, I ended up sleepwalking.

Read more on BBC

"We've been sleepwalking into this as a nation for quite some time," he says.

Read more on BBC

I think this is the space where a lot of our leaders and regular voters are sleepwalking.

Read more on Salon