1
as in uneasy
lacking or denying rest
the worried mother spent a restless night, tossing and turning in bed for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in anxious
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
the figure skater was visibly restless as she waited for her scores to be posted
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of restless
The highs and lows of a restless youth collide headlong into the concrete realities of adulthood when Leonardo, a teenager from Palermo, leaves home for the first time.
—
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 July 2025
The ancestors restless in the back of my mind would not let me.
—Tanya Talaga
july 24, Literary Hub, 24 July 2025
Feeling restless watching the celebrations unfold in Damascus on their TV screen, Taleb got in his car and drove straight to the capital city.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 21 July 2025
Any more info would spoil a twisty, richly visual tale, yet Pacino is upfront that the film’s claustrophobic feelings were a result of feeling creatively restless during COVID.
—William Earl, Variety, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for restless
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 July 2025
The ancestors restless in the back of my mind would not let me.
—Tanya Talaga
july 24, Literary Hub, 24 July 2025
Feeling restless watching the celebrations unfold in Damascus on their TV screen, Taleb got in his car and drove straight to the capital city.
—Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 21 July 2025
Any more info would spoil a twisty, richly visual tale, yet Pacino is upfront that the film’s claustrophobic feelings were a result of feeling creatively restless during COVID.
—William Earl, Variety, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for restless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for restless
Adjective
-
The United States and China have settled into a steady state of pragmatic, if uneasy, détente.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Reading Zeller’s book, I was reminded that there is a kind of uneasy fellowship in this condition—a vast, involuntary community of people mapping out their lives between attacks, haunted by uncertainty but sustained in part by accounts like his.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The vices of deficiency, such as being anxious, agitated, impatient, inattentive, and rash, are common everyday experiences.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
-
Orange County students are returning to class this month as districts navigate an anxious back-to-school season shaped by immigration raids over the summer and the possibility that attendance drops could cut into school funding.—
Hanna Kang,
Oc Register,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The musical originally toured the United States for six months in 1976, a legendarily troubled production, retooled constantly, that has long since entered stage lore.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Randall-Pizarro’s lawyer, Margaret Olsen of the Legal Aid Society, wanted the judge to use that earlier test to get the 18-year-old committed in the hopes of sparing her a stay in the troubled city jail complex.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
To my mind, this is the most disturbing part of the retractions saga: the chaos, uncertainty, disrespect, and bullying, devoid of any underlying moral or philosophical reasoning.—
Elizabeth Kaye Cook
August 6,
Literary Hub,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Her dad, Taylor finds her art to be disturbing, but nonetheless harmless.—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The ongoing legal battle and federal investigation remains unsettled; Mountain West has made questionable claims Slusser's attorney, William Bock, filed a response to motions to dismiss one of the cases June 23.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 2025
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As summer travel peaks and crowded airports coincide with unsettled weather, many travelers feel like the system is in a constant state of melting down.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
26 July 2025
Adjective
-
Earlier this year, Trump appeared to side with Moscow, temporarily halting military aid and confronting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a tense Oval Office meeting.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
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Take the tense scene inside a packed auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently, where Republican Rep. Mike Flood faced hundreds of constituents during an August 4 town hall.—
Saige Miller,
NPR,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And even if Xi succeeded on the battlefield, the cost might be high: China could become an international pariah, its economy sapped by sanctions, and its security forces saddled with a new, taxing mission of maintaining control of a restive Taiwan.—
TYLER JOST,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Aug. 2025
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Iranian experts have long urged successive U.S. administrations to provide strike pay and other forms of aid to restive workers in the Islamic Republic, with a view to improving human rights and causing regime change from within.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Reducing stress levels and finding ways to manage anxiety can usually help ease or prevent nervous poops.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
5 Aug. 2025
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Republican legislators in Austin have redrawn the Lone Star State's congressional maps after pressure from the president's political operatives, who are nervous that Democrats might win control of the House – as is customary for the party out of power – in 2026.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Restless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/restless. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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