1 wearied | Definition of wearied
Logo
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

weary

adjective
wea·​ry | \ ˈwir-ē How to pronounce weary (audio) \
wearier; weariest

Definition of weary

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness
2 : expressing or characteristic of weariness a weary sign
3 : having one's patience, tolerance, or pleasure exhausted —used with of soon grew weary of waiting
4 : wearisome

weary

verb
wea·​ry | \ ˈwir-ē How to pronounce weary (audio) \
wearied; wearying

Definition of weary (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to become weary

transitive verb

: to make weary
Other Words from weary Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Sick and Tired: The Literal and Figurative Meanings of Lassitude More Example Sentences Learn More about weary

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from weary

Adjective

wearily \ ˈwir-​ə-​lē How to pronounce wearily (audio) \ adverb
weariness \ ˈwir-​ē-​nəs How to pronounce weariness (audio) \ noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for weary

Synonyms: Adjective

all in, aweary [archaic], beat, beaten, bleary, burned-out (or burnt-out), bushed, dead, done, drained, exhausted, fatigued, jaded, knackered [British], limp, logy (also loggy), played out, pooped [slang], prostrate, spent, tapped out, tired, tuckered (out), washed-out, wearied, wiped out, worn, worn-out

Synonyms: Verb

bore, jade, tire

Antonyms: Adjective

unwearied

Antonyms: Verb

absorb, busy, engage, engross, enthrall (or enthral), fascinate, grip, interest, intrigue

Visit the Thesaurus for More 

Choose the Right Synonym for weary

Verb

tire, weary, fatigue, exhaust, jade mean to make or become unable or unwilling to continue. tire implies a draining of one's strength or patience. the long ride tired us out weary stresses tiring until one is unable to endure more of the same thing. wearied of the constant arguing fatigue suggests great lassitude from excessive strain or undue effort. fatigued by the day's chores exhaust implies complete draining of strength by hard exertion. shoveling snow exhausted him jade suggests the loss of all freshness and eagerness. appetites jaded by overindulgence

Sick and Tired: The Literal and Figurative Meanings of Lassitude

Lassitude and weariness make an interesting pair. As with many nearly synonymous pairs of words in English, one is derived from Latin and the other from Old English. Even though they both mean “the condition of being tired,” they are used in different ways. Following a common pattern, the Latinate word tends to be used in technical, medical, and formal writing, and the Old English-derived word is used when referring to physical, emotional, and spiritual qualities.

Lassitude comes from the Latin word lassus, meaning “weary.” Our English spelling comes from the French word that developed directly from Latin, borrowed in the 15th century. In French, the word las (masculine) or lasse (feminine) means “weary” or “tired,” and the idiom être las de means “to be sick and tired of.” This led to another English word with the same root: alas, a word that expresses sadness or disappointment, but conveys some measure of fatigue and resignation as well.

Though it sometimes is just a fancy word for fatigue in medical contexts, lassitude is also used in ways that are metaphorical and closer in meaning to “negligence”:

Congress was being choked by pettiness and lassitude.

The case was delayed because of sheer lassitude.

The failure was the result of moral lassitude.

Examples of weary in a Sentence

Adjective

 I would remember the potential for return, all things circling as they do, into something like fullness, small moments of completion that weave together, like Penelope's cloth, doing and undoing themselves by turns, an unfinished pattern that guides a weary traveler home … — Paul Sorrell, Parabola, May 2000 But for the wilted weeds that managed to jut forth in wiry clumps where the mortar was cracked and washed away, the viaduct wall was barren of everything except the affirmation of a weary industrial city's prolonged and triumphant struggle to monumentalize its ugliness. — Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997 Every day for a week Ellsworth showed up to see Clarence and every day Miss Eunice and Mr. George Edward would exchange weary glances and shrugs … — Randall Kenan, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, 1992 I need to rest my weary eyes. The miners were weary after a long shift. She was weary from years of housework.

Verb

 What wearies me about Dickens, however, is his excessive use of words. — Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Nov. 2006 I doubted what Indonesia now had to offer and wearied of being new all over again. — Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, (1995) 2004 Does it weary me to find some women of the next generation reinventing the wheel when it comes to planning their lives and dreaming of their romantic futures? — Margo Jefferson, New York Times Book Review, 15 Apr. 2001 The work wearies me sometimes. these constant complaints are really wearying me
See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

 The others soon grew weary of the endeavor as well. —

WORD OF THE DAY

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!