in·som·ni·ac
in-ˈsäm-nē-ˌak 
: of, relating to, characterized by, or affected with insomnia
insomniac nights
insomniac tendencies
… he lived for several months with an older brother who didn't enforce bedtime rules. Joe started exchanging text messages with an insomniac friend and played online games against opponents on the other side of the planet.—
John Cline
John ClineThe last thing my sisters and I would do on Christmas Eve—before retiring to our separate rooms and our private paroxysms of insomniac anticipation—was make sure our parents had put out cookies for Santa Claus.—Christopher Caldwell
Christopher Caldwell
plural insomniacs
: a person affected with insomnia
Many insomniacs develop anxiety about going to bed and they fear sleeplessness, which can worsen insomnia.—Andrew Weil
Andrew WeilExamples of insomniac in a Sentence
Adjective
an insomniac veteran tormented by his memories of the war
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 May 2025
There are some insomniac flies who would like a word.
—Elizabeth Rayne, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025
The Gorge centers on these two lonely insomniac snipers who connect with one another from towers that are 600 meters apart.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
The movie, based on Chuck Palahniuk’s subversive novel, starred Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter and followed an insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker who form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Every night, inhabitants of the city that never sleeps are kept awake by everything from the sounds of slammed front doors reverberating down hallways to insomniac oboists who could use a few more lessons (ideally during the day).
—Natalie Wexler, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
The kids fill their insomniac parents with love and fear.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024
For the insomniac bedmate who turns on the light to read and wakes you up
An eye mask can only do so much.
—Leslie Yazel, wsj.com, 14 Dec. 2023
These narratives are magnetic forces that pull the reader into their worlds, leaving them eager to discover what comes next, from a bricklayer hiding his love for wearing red lipstick to an insomniac journalist fighting street violence.
—Roxsy Lin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023
Elie Y. Katz, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
The dolphin Dolphins are most likely to self-report as insomniacs.
—Jp Shaffer
july 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2025
Mitski does it too, singing desire and self-doubt like secrets passed from one insomniac to another.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 26 June 2025
The brand’s latest product launch is the Peace Pillow Speaker, a bone-conduction device that’s been designed to help light sleepers and insomniacs enjoy music, podcasts and audiobooks without disturbing their slumbering partner.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
The one thing the insomniac does not envy is the unconscious dead.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The one thing the insomniac does not envy is the unconscious dead.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The insistent insomniac, desperate for a chat, usually sighs, accepts the verdict, and slumps back into sleeplessness.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Flashbacks and montages of her girlhood and celebrity prime reveal fragments of her biography, but the movie mostly sifts through the singer’s insomniac and at times hallucinogenic hours wandering her palatial apartment and the streets of Paris to probe the mystery of Callas.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
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Adjective
The four-time Grammy winner dazzled exhibitors with a mini-concert at CinemaCon to jazz them up for the film, which follows a version of himself, an insomniac musician, who encounters a mysterious stranger.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 May 2025
There are some insomniac flies who would like a word.
—Elizabeth Rayne, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025
The Gorge centers on these two lonely insomniac snipers who connect with one another from towers that are 600 meters apart.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
The movie, based on Chuck Palahniuk’s subversive novel, starred Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter and followed an insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker who form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Every night, inhabitants of the city that never sleeps are kept awake by everything from the sounds of slammed front doors reverberating down hallways to insomniac oboists who could use a few more lessons (ideally during the day).
—Natalie Wexler, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024
The kids fill their insomniac parents with love and fear.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024
For the insomniac bedmate who turns on the light to read and wakes you up
An eye mask can only do so much.
—Leslie Yazel, wsj.com, 14 Dec. 2023
These narratives are magnetic forces that pull the reader into their worlds, leaving them eager to discover what comes next, from a bricklayer hiding his love for wearing red lipstick to an insomniac journalist fighting street violence.
—Roxsy Lin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023
Noun
While others exhaust themselves and their budgets staying open for ghosts and insomniacs, smart operators perfect their performance when the audience is there.
—Elie Y. Katz, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
The dolphin Dolphins are most likely to self-report as insomniacs.
—Jp Shaffer
july 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2025
Mitski does it too, singing desire and self-doubt like secrets passed from one insomniac to another.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 26 June 2025
The brand’s latest product launch is the Peace Pillow Speaker, a bone-conduction device that’s been designed to help light sleepers and insomniacs enjoy music, podcasts and audiobooks without disturbing their slumbering partner.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
The one thing the insomniac does not envy is the unconscious dead.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The one thing the insomniac does not envy is the unconscious dead.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
The insistent insomniac, desperate for a chat, usually sighs, accepts the verdict, and slumps back into sleeplessness.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Flashbacks and montages of her girlhood and celebrity prime reveal fragments of her biography, but the movie mostly sifts through the singer’s insomniac and at times hallucinogenic hours wandering her palatial apartment and the streets of Paris to probe the mystery of Callas.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Insomniac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insomniac. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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