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• wide-awake
  wide-awake

  adjective

  fully awake; with the eyes wide open.
• wide awake
  wide awake

  Fully awake; also, very alert. For example, He lay there, wide awake, unable to sleep, or She was wide awake to all the possibilities. The wide in this idiom alludes to the eyes being wide open. [Early 1800s]

wide-awake

American  

[wahyd-uh-weyk] / ˈwaɪd əˈweɪk /

adjective

1. fully awake; with the eyes wide open.

   Synonyms:

   unsleeping, astir, wakeful, open-eyed, awake

   Antonyms:

   restful, sleeping, asleep, somnolent, lethargic, drowsy, sleepy

2. alert, keen, or knowing.

   a wide-awake young woman.

   Synonyms:

   astute, quick, sharp, vigilant, watchful

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noun

1. Also called wide-awake hat.  a soft, low-crowned felt hat.

2. the sooty tern.

wide-awake British  

adjective

1. fully awake

2. keen, alert, or observant

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noun

1. Also called: wide-awake hat.  a hat with a low crown and very wide brim

wide awake Idioms  

1. Fully awake; also, very alert. For example, He lay there, wide awake, unable to sleep, or She was wide awake to all the possibilities. The wide in this idiom alludes to the eyes being wide open. [Early 1800s]

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Other Word Forms

• wide-awakeness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of wide-awake

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

But he told AFP he still wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night "wide awake thinking about this piece."

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

For the duration of the procedure the client is wide awake, having had low levels of local anaesthetic injected into the skin and the deeper tissue beneath.

From BBC • Oct. 10, 2025

Since then, I’ve asked it about helping with a nap schedule and used it as a sounding board to complain at 2 a.m. when my baby is wide awake — and I’m not alone.

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2025

It was hours until dawn, but all were wide awake, the chatter incessant.

From Slate • Dec. 16, 2023

And on top of that, it was daytime—copperheads were wide awake.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds