asleep

adjective

ə-ˈslēp How to pronounce asleep (audio)
Definition of asleepnext
1
as in sleeping
being in a state of suspended consciousness was sound asleep when the earthquake struck

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in numb
lacking in sensation or feeling after sitting cross-legged all afternoon, I arose only to discover that my right foot was asleep

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fallen
no longer living let us pray for those who are now asleep

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of asleep But much like with movement, the report highlights the evidence that suggests consistency matters as much as time asleep. — New Atlas, 7 Aug. 2026 Increasingly, electricity flicks on when Rodríguez and her 41-year-old daughter, Yaimara Matos, would normally be asleep. — Andrea Rodriguez, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 JetBlue personnel allegedly found Lackey asleep aboard the plane, and he was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal mischief and interrupting critical infrastructure. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026 While Mateus Fernandes was fast asleep in Sydney, there was a social media meltdown developing at home. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for asleep
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asleep
  1. sleeping
  2. numb
  3. fallen
  4. resting
  5. numbed
  6. dead
  7. dormant
  8. deceased
Adjective
  • An autopsy showed that the infant died from asphyxiation secondary to a co-sleeping/overlay event with an unsafe sleeping environment.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2026
Definition of sleeping
Adjective
  • My hand instantly went numb, the wrist and fingers falling limp and useless.
    — Todd Orr, Outdoor Life, 30 July 2026
  • As people around her begin slipping into an emotionally numb trance described as being eclipsed, the boundaries between Bego’s imagination, the digital world and physical reality begin to dissolve.
    — Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 30 July 2026
Definition of numb
Adjective
  • By Wednesday, Carter said, fallen branches had punched several holes through roofs across the campus, including the administration building.
    — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Now, several more memorials are in the works, including tributes to war veterans, Peace Corps volunteers and fallen journalists.
    — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of fallen
Adjective
  • That’s because when the body experiences physical stress, including losing weight quickly, more hairs can shift into a resting phase and fall out a few months later — typically two to three months after the event, Rossi explains.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 17 Feb. 2026
  • This is a condition where, due to stress or hormonal changes, the body puts the hair follicles into a resting phase.
    — Essence, Essence, 19 Dec. 2025
Definition of resting
Adjective
  • When Bill’s older brother Henry (Barry Ward) finds the pianist in numbed solitude in his dingy apartment, Bill has canceled all his upcoming gigs, saying Scotty cannot be replaced.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Ingber also notes the numbed response to these strikes from much of the American public, something that, in part, may come from the routine nature of these drone strikes as something that the nation has become desensitized to dropping bombs on enemies.
    — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of numbed
Adjective
  • This one stars Cox himself as a mysterious and formidable old man in an undertaker’s suit and parson’s hat who wanders into an Arizona border town in 1890 to gather the names of dead Mexican laborers.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
  • His mother, Sudha Venkatesan, 45, and his brother, Siddharth Aravind, 14, were found dead Tuesday in their home in Acton, some 20 miles northwest of Boston, prosecutors said.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of dead
Adjective
  • Hooping now has become a form of reclamation, an outlet for recovering a childhood joy that sat dormant for years.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The development had gone dormant by the time DeFaria was brought in by his old colleagues to revive the project.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of dormant
Adjective
  • The missing swimmer was found deceased in the water after several hours of searching.
    — Tim Fang, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Lindsay and Palmer-Tomkinson were both flown to a local hospital in Davos, where Lindsay was declared deceased.
    — Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of deceased

Browse Nearby Words

aslant
asleep
as like as not
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Asleep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asleep. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of asleep for Spanish Speakers

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