drowsy

adjective \ ˈdrau̇-zē \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of drowsy

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

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drowsily

play \-zə-lē\ adverb

—

drowsiness

play \-zē-nəs\ noun

See drowsy defined for English-language learners

See drowsy defined for kids

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 of drowsy from the Web

Sometimes, the public is excited, because autonomous vehicles promise to, perhaps, one day banish dangerous drunk, drowsy, and distracted drivers in favor of precise machines.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "The Never-Ending Self-Driving Car Project," 8 Apr. 2018
After the drowsy, dark opening third, Jill wakes up and so does the movie, bathed in bright colors and L.A. sunlight.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "Kirke captains 'Gemini,' a nimble neo-noir," 4 Apr. 2018
By lowering the temperature to around 64 degrees, the baby crocs become drowsy and less bellicose over a journey lasting up to a week.

— rob taylor, WSJ, "How Do You Deliver Crocodiles to Handbag Makers? Very Carefully," 23 Mar. 2018
The points between Hewitt and David Nalbandian left the Center Court crowd drowsy during a Wimbledon final that had all the color and excitement found in the original video game, Pong.

— christopher clarey, New York Times, "In Tennis, the Backward Cap Makes No Sense. Nevertheless, It Persists.," 19 Jan. 2018
Happily, the main attractions are still the drowsy dolce vita atmosphere, great seafood restaurants—don’t miss Osteria il Principe e il Pirata—and the stunning views: of Elephant’s Arch and, on a clear day, Tunisia.

— alexander lobrano, Town & Country, "The Ultimate Mediterranean Bucket List," 2 June 2017
Car crashes cost more than 30,000 lives per year in the United States alone, with drunk, drowsy, and distracted drivers accounting for many of those fatalities.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Congress debates allowing tens of thousands of cars with no steering wheel," 16 Mar. 2018
In 2014, there were 846 fatalities (2.6% of all traffic fatalities) that were drowsy-driving related, according to data from a NHTSA database.

— kirsten korosec, Fortune, "Uber Is Setting New Limits to Help Prevent Accidents From Drowsy Driving," 12 Feb. 2018
But after eighteen months of chasing speeders and patrolling the drowsy hamlets just south of the Vermont border, he was granted a transfer to Martha's Vineyard.

— sean flynn, Esquire, "The Perfect Fire," 9 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'drowsy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.