INDEX:
1. tired after exercise or work
2. wanting to sleep
3. tired and having no interest in anything
4. looking tired
5. to become tired
6. to make someone feel tired
7. making you feel tired
8. the feeling of being tired
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ SLEEP
↑ WAKE UP/GET UP
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1. tired after exercise or work
▷ tired /taɪəʳd/ [adjective]
▪ I usually feel too tired to cook dinner after a day at the office.
▪ We sat down and stretched out our tired legs.
▪ They came back from their long walk, tired but relaxed.
▪ Overly tired drivers can be nearly as dangerous as drunk drivers.
get tired
start to feel tired
▪ Can we stop soon? I’m getting really tired.
▷ exhausted /ɪgˈzɔːstɪd, ɪgˈzɔːstəd/ [adjective]
very tired, especially because you have been doing a sport or other hard physical activity, and you have used all your energy :
▪ I was exhausted every day when I first started teaching, but I’m used to it now.
▪ The exhausted dancers collapsed as they stepped off the stage.
exhausted from/by
▪ The five of them were still exhausted from their 36-hour train ride.
completely/absolutely exhausted
▪ We had been walking for over 20 miles, and we were completely exhausted.
▷ tired out/worn out /ˌtaɪəʳd ˈaʊt, ˌwɔːʳn ˈaʊt/ [adjective not before noun]
very tired, especially after a lot of hard work, physical exercise, or travelling :
▪ Come in and sit down. You look worn out.
▪ The men had been working in the fields all day and they were tired out.
tired out/worn out from/by
▪ Susan and Lloyd were both tired out from feeding, bathing, and putting the children to bed.
▷ shattered /ˈʃætəʳd/ [adjective not before noun] British
very tired, especially as a result of mental effort or worry :
▪ When he came out of the exam he felt shattered.
▪ I’ve had a terrible day at the office and I’m absolutely shattered.
▷ weary /ˈwɪ ə ri/ [adjective] written
so tired after a very long period of working, travelling, or great mental effort that you feel you can hardly continue with what you are doing :
▪ After the hike the two were so weary they fell asleep immediately.
▪ Snow in Boston closed down the airport, causing even more delays for weary travellers.
grow weary
▪ My head grew weary from trying to follow his arguments.
wearily [adverb]
▪ A middle-aged waitress came wearily over to them to take their order.
▷ drained /dreɪnd/ [adjective not before noun]
very tired and feeling as if all your energy has gone, especially as a result of an unpleasant emotional experience, such as being worried, upset, or shocked :
▪ By the end of the day I felt drained, with nothing to show for all my work.
▪ After losing the game, Coach Saylor came to the press conference looking and sounding emotionally drained.
▷ knackered /ˈnækəʳd/ [adjective not before noun] British
very tired :
▪ I’ve been up since four o'clock this morning - I’m absolutely knackered!
▪ When you’re training a team sometimes it’s good to push them until they’re knackered.
▷ beat/pooped/bushed /biːt, puːpt, bʊʃt/ [adjective not before noun] American informal
very tired :
▪ Wow, I’m pooped. I don’t feel like going to the gym tonight.
▪ You look beat - what have you been doing?
▪ Will you excuse me? I’m bushed - I think I’ll go to bed.
▷ be dead on your feet/be ready to drop /biː ˌded ɒn jɔːʳ ˈfiːt, biː ˌredi tə ˈdrɒpǁ-ˈdrɑːp/ [verb phrase] informal
to be so tired that you are almost unable to stay standing :
▪ After fourteen hours of non-stop work I was dead on my feet.
▪ For goodness’ sake go home! You look ready to drop.
2. wanting to sleep
▷ tired /taɪəʳd/ [adjective]
▪ The kids were really tired, so we sent them to bed.
▪ I tried to watch the news on TV, but I was too tired to stay awake.
▷ sleepy /ˈsliːpi/ [adjective]
if you are sleepy, you want to sleep immediately and your eyes are starting to close :
▪ ‘Aren’t you sleepy?’ ‘No, I took a nap this afternoon.’
▪ It’s no easy task getting three sleepy children out of the car and into the house.
▪ We arrived at the hotel late at night, and were too sleepy to notice how beautiful it was.
sleepily [adverb]
▪ ‘What time is it?’ she said sleepily.
▷ drowsy /ˈdraʊzi/ [adjective]
starting to sleep because you are in a warm place or because you have drunk alcohol or taken medicine :
▪ You shouldn’t drive after taking these pills - they can make you drowsy.
▪ Len had drunk too much wine, and he felt cosy and drowsy in spite of the coffee.
▷ half-asleep /ˌhɑːf əˈsliːp◂ǁˌhæf-/ [adjective not before noun]
very nearly asleep because you are tired and sleepy :
▪ ‘Wyatt, what is it?’ Sue called, half-asleep, from the bedroom.
▪ Moira was half-asleep when the phone rang and it took her a few seconds to realize what it was.
▷ can hardly/can barely/can’t keep your eyes open /kən ˌhɑːʳdli, kən ˌbeəʳli, ˌkɑːnt kiːp jɔːr ˈaɪz ˌəʊpənǁˌkænt-/ [verb phrase]
to feel so tired that you find it hard to stay awake :
▪ I can’t keep my eyes open - I’ve got to go to bed.
▪ The kids were still full of energy, but Julie and I could hardly keep our eyes open.
▪ By the time we finally got home, I could barely keep my eyes open.
3. tired and having no interest in anything
▷ lethargic /lɪˈθɑːʳdʒɪk, ləˈθɑːʳdʒɪk/ [adjective]
feeling tired and lazy, as if you have no interest in doing anything :
▪ All this hot weather is making me feel lethargic.
▪ Patients with depression may be lethargic during the day and unable to sleep at night.
▪ The spectacular play inspired his lethargic teammates to start playing harder.
▷ listless /ˈlɪstləs/ [adjective]
feeling tired and not interested in anything, especially because you are ill :
▪ Tim is listless on the job and keeps making dumb mistakes.
▪ The last few years of my mother’s life she was tired and listless most of the time.
▪ She had to keep thinking up new ways to hold the attention of her listless pupils.
4. looking tired
▷ tired /taɪəʳd/ [adjective]
▪ I’ve never seen him look so tired.
tired eyes/face etc
▪ Look at their tired little faces.
▪ She had tired-looking bags under her eyes.
▷ washed-out /ˌwɒʃt ˈaʊtǁˌwɑːʃt-/ [adjective not before noun] especially British
looking tired and unhealthy :
▪ The last time I saw Helena she was looking pretty washed-out. Is she alright?
▷ bleary-eyed /ˌblɪ ə ri ˈaɪd◂/ [adjective]
with red, half-open eyes, especially as a result of lack of sleep :
▪ After twelve hours of driving Jean was bleary-eyed and stiff.
▪ The bleary-eyed engineers were still hard at work when everyone else arrived the next day.
▷ drawn /drɔːn/ [adjective]
someone who looks drawn is tired from illness, worry, or working too hard, and their face looks thin and pale :
▪ Terry’s face was pale and drawn when she finally arrived.
▪ The emergency meeting had lasted all night, and the President looked drawn as he read the statement.
5. to become tired
▷ get tired /ˌget ˈtaɪəʳd/ [verb phrase]
▪ If you get tired, just stop for a while.
▪ We talked until we both got tired and decided to go to bed.
▪ Since her illness, she finds that she gets tired really easily.
▷ flag /flæg/ [intransitive verb]
to start to get tired, especially if you are doing something that needs a lot of energy :
▪ Jenny taught for four hours straight without flagging.
▪ By the fifth game, I could see that my opponent was beginning to flag.
▷ tire yourself out/wear yourself out/exhaust yourself /ˌtaɪəʳ jɔːʳself ˈaʊt, ˌweəʳ jɔːʳself ˈaʊt, ɪgˈzɔːst jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase]
to become tired by doing things that take a lot of effort :
▪ The baby’s stopped crying. He must have tired himself out.
▪ You’re going to wear yourself out if you keep working so hard.
▪ My poor mother had exhausted herself trying to get ready for company.
▷ burn out/burn yourself out /ˌbɜːʳn ˈaʊt, ˌbɜːʳn jɔːʳself ˈaʊt/ []
to become tired, ill, and unable to continue, as a result of working too hard for too long, especially because you want very much to be successful :
▪ If you don’t stop working nights and weekends, you’ll burn yourself out.
▪ Most of these high-flying young executives burn out before they’re 30.
burnt-out/burned out /ˌbɜːʳnt ˈaʊt◂, ˌbɜːʳnd ˈaʊt◂/ [adjective]
▪ Most of the school’s teachers have been there for years and are burnt out.
▷ run out of steam /ˌrʌn aʊt əv ˈstiːm/ [verb phrase]
to become so tired that you do not have enough energy to finish what you are doing, especially when you have been working hard for a long time :
▪ The home team seemed to run out of steam well before the game was over.
▪ Gail started the project with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but at some point she just ran out of steam.
▷ tire yourself /ˈtaɪəʳ jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase]
to become tired because of things that you do :
▪ Get plenty of rest and try not to tire yourself unnecessarily.
6. to make someone feel tired
▷ tire/wear out /ˌtaɪər, ˌweər ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
tire/wear somebody out
▪ Their constant quarrelling is wearing us out.
tire/wear out somebody
▪ The thin air at high altitudes usually tires out people who are not used to the mountains.
▷ exhaust /ɪgˈzɔːst/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel very tired :
▪ The effort of swimming against the current exhausted him.
it exhausts somebody to do something
▪ It exhausted him to talk for too long, but he loved hearing all the theater gossip.
▷ tire /taɪəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel tired, especially someone who gets tired easily because they are old or ill :
▪ I won’t tire you with a long visit. I just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing.
▷ take it out ofsb/do somebody in /ˌteɪk ɪt ˈaʊt əv somebody, ˌduː somebody ˈɪn/ [verb phrase/transitive phrasal verb] informal
to make you feel as if you have no energy left :
▪ Dale’s a construction worker. You know, that sort of work really takes it out of you.
▪ It wasn’t the cooking so much as all the cleaning up that did me in.
▷ it nearly killed me /ɪt ˌnɪəʳli ˈkɪld miː/ spoken
use this to say that doing a very hard job or activity made you feel extremely tired :
▪ It nearly killed me carrying that fridge up the stairs!
7. making you feel tired
▷ tiring /ˈtaɪ ə rɪŋ/ [adjective]
something that is tiring makes you feel tired :
▪ The journey was really tiring.
▪ Sam couldn’t wait for the whole tiring ordeal to be over.
a tiring day/week etc
▪ I’ve had such a tiring day. I just want to take a bath and go to bed.
▷ exhausting /ɪgˈzɔːstɪŋ/ [adjective]
something that is exhausting makes you feel very weak and very tired :
▪ She’s just returned from another exhausting lecture tour.
▪ I had to drive nine hours without a break - it was exhausting.
▪ Starting a small business can be the most physically and mentally exhausting task you’ve ever done.
▷ hard /hɑːʳd/ [adjective usually before noun]
a hard day, journey etc is one that makes you feel very tired because you have to work very hard, travel a long distance, or deal with a lot of problems :
▪ Taking care of a two-year-old is hard work.
▪ It was a long hard walk back to the nearest town.
▪ When I come home from a hard day at work, I don’t feel like talking to anyone.
▷ wearing /ˈwe ə rɪŋ/ [adjective not before noun]
a person, activity, or situation that is wearing is very tiring because it uses up a lot of your mental energy :
▪ I find her constant questions and chatter rather wearing.
▪ Kids of that age can be very wearing, can’t they?
8. the feeling of being tired
▷ tiredness /ˈtaɪəʳdnɪs, ˈtaɪəʳdnəs/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Tiredness and headaches are common signs of stress.
▪ Camomile tea soothes the nerves and relieves tiredness.
▪ A terrible tiredness had overcome her, leaving her no energy for extra activities.
▷ exhaustion /ɪgˈzɔːstʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling of being very tired :
▪ The soldiers were suffering from exhaustion after long days and nights of marching.
▪ The signs of chronic exhaustion showed in Martha’s face.
from/with exhaustion
▪ One of the players collapsed with exhaustion and had to be carried off the field.
▷ drowsiness /ˈdraʊzinɪs, ˈdraʊzinəs/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling of wanting to sleep that you sometimes get when you are in a warm place or when you have drunk alcohol or taken medicine :
▪ The drug can cause drowsiness.
▪ Robert stopped fighting the drowsiness and sank back in the soft chair.
▷ fatigue /fəˈtiːg/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of being very tired and weak - used especially in medical contexts :
▪ Symptoms of the illness include fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite.
▪ Driving in stressful conditions can lead to muscle fatigue.
▪ She seemed depressed and was beginning to show signs of fatigue.
▷ lethargy /ˈleθəʳdʒi/ [uncountable noun] formal
extreme tiredness that makes you feel very lazy, so that you do not want to do anything and you are not interested in anything :
▪ Another common symptom of a hangover is lethargy and muscular weakness.
▪ It is not unusual for new mothers to go to the doctor complaining of tiredness, lethargy, and mild depression.
▷ jet-lag /ˈdʒet læg/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of tiredness and confusion which you sometimes get when you fly to a part of the world where the time is different from the place you have left :
▪ I always get jet-lag when I fly from London to New York.
jet-lagged [adjective]
suffering from jet-lag :
▪ On the first morning of the conference, most of us were still jet-lagged.
▷ burnout /ˈbɜːʳnaʊt/ [uncountable noun]
when you have worked so hard over a long period of time that you become too mentally and physically tired to continue :
▪ Young boys recruited at an early age by soccer clubs often suffer from burnout before they’re out of their teens.