I. wear ‧ y 1 /ˈwɪəri $ ˈwɪr-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: werig ]
1 . very tired or bored, especially because you have been doing something for a long time:
She found Rachel in the kitchen, looking old and weary.
She sat down with a weary sigh.
weary of (doing) something
He was weary of the constant battle between them.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say tired rather than weary :
▪
They were tired after their journey.
2 . especially literary very tiring:
a long and weary march
—wearily adverb
—weariness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ tired feeling that you want to sleep or rest:
I was really tired the next day.
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the tired faces of the children
▪ exhausted extremely tired:
I was exhausted after the long trip home.
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He sat down, exhausted.
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She immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.
▪ worn out [not before noun] very tired because you have been working hard:
With three small children to care for, she was always worn out.
▪ weary /ˈwɪəri $ ˈwɪr-/ written tired because you have been travelling, worrying, or doing something for a long time:
weary travellers
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a weary sigh
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He looks tired and weary after 20 years in office.
▪ fatigued formal very tired:
They were too fatigued to continue with the climb.
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Because of her illness, she often became fatigued.
▪ drained [not before noun] very tired and feeling as if all your energy has gone:
Afterwards, he felt drained, both physically and mentally.
▪ bushed/beat [not before noun] informal very tired:
I’m bushed. I think I’ll go to bed early.
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I’m beat. I don’t think I’ll go for a run tonight.
▪ knackered British English , pooped American English [not before noun] informal very tired. Knackered is a very informal use - do not use it in polite conversation:
By the time I got home I was absolutely knackered.
▪ shattered [not before noun] British English informal extremely tired:
When I first started teaching, I came home shattered every night.
▪ dead spoken extremely tired, so that you cannot do anything but sleep:
I was absolutely dead by the time I got home.
II. weary 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle wearied , present participle wearying , third person singular wearies ) [intransitive and transitive]
formal to become very tired, or make someone very tired:
Amanda wouldn’t admit how much the children wearied her.
weary of (doing) something
As the day wore on, we wearied of the journey.
—wearying adjective