drowsy

adjective

ˈdrau̇-zē 

drowsier; drowsiest

1

a

: ready to fall asleep

The pills made her drowsy.

b

: inducing or tending to induce sleep

drowsy music

c

: indolent, lethargic

drowsy bureaucrats

2

: giving the appearance of peaceful inactivity

a drowsy village

drowsily

ˈdrau̇-zə-lē 

adverb

drowsiness

ˈdrau̇-zē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• sleepy
• sleeping
• resting

Examples of drowsy in a Sentence

We spent a drowsy afternoon by the pool.

the drowsy students shuffled into the first-period class

Recent Examples on the Web

The little girl began to feel drowsy after her exertions at the swimming pool and decided to curl up beside her. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025

Unfortunately, the infectious energy of the scare zone gets completely lost in the lethargic and drowsy maze. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025

However, the risk of crashing while visibly drowsy is also greater than the risk of crashing while engaging in distracting behaviors. —Jamie L. Lareau, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025

Those are the highlights of new research released on Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit financed by the insurance industry, that examined driver experiences with Subaru’s driver attention technology system designed to help combat distracted and drowsy driving. —Tanya Mohn, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see drowse entry 1

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for drowsy

• lousy

Kids Definition

drowsy

adjective

ˈdrau̇-zē 

drowsier; drowsiest

1

: ready to fall asleep

2

: making one sleepy

a drowsy afternoon

drowsily

-zə-lē 

adverb

drowsiness

-zē-nəs 

noun

Medical Definition

drowsy

adjective

ˈdrau̇-zē 

drowsier; drowsiest

: ready to fall asleep : sleepy

drowsily

-zə-lē 

adverb

drowsiness

-zē-nəs 

noun