ASLEEP Synonyms: 99 Similar and Opposite Words

asleep

adjective

ə-ˈslēp

Definition of asleep

as in sleeping

being in a state of suspended consciousness was sound asleep when the earthquake struck

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Wyatt was charged again with drunken driving in May 2026 after she was found asleep at the wheel in Galveston County. — Isaac Yu, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026 The only reason to think this may be a game is if the Cowboys are asleep, and Jalon Daniels has some success running the ball. — Mac Engel october 8, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Oct. 2026 Chidgasornpongse crystallizes that cosmic doom further when Grandma Saluay falls half-asleep or stares out the van window, her mind drifting into the ether. — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026 On the simplest question – asleep or awake – today’s devices come close. — J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for asleep

Recent Examples of Synonyms for asleep

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

To live in truth here, now, today is to resist the forces that would like nothing more than to isolate, numb, and commodify us.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Halfway through my hands and feet went numb, then felt like fire, and then contorted into strange positions like lobster claws.

— Kate Berlant, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of numb

Adjective

While Kyiv and Moscow have maintained limited contact to organize prisoner exchanges and the return of fallen soldiers, previous talks have made no progress on the security arrangements needed to sustain a peace deal.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
When the men return from Sheriffmuir with the bodies of their fallen comrades, Colum has to grapple with his role in their deaths.

— Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Oct. 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

Separate shootings in Dallas left four people dead and 15 injured as police investigated whether three incidents in the Deep Ellum neighborhood were connected.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
The 16-year-old operator of an e-bike was injured in a crash with a Corvette early Sunday in West Boca that left an 18-year-old Fort Lauderdale man dead, police said.

— Robin Webb, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of dead

Adjective

In January, Sorrells created a cold case task force that is using advances in DNA technology to try to identify suspects in dormant homicide investigations.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
Ryan Gosling is reviving one of his long-dormant side gigs just in time for Halloween.

— Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of dormant

Adjective

Later in the day, a California Highway Patrol helicopter located a deceased climber on that route, but a storm system soon moved into the area, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

— Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Professor Frink reanimates his formerly deceased father after winning the Nobel Prize, but the elder Frink, not content with his current body, steals parts and organs from other humans.

— Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of deceased

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aslant

asleep

as like as not

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Style

“Asleep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asleep. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of asleep

adjective

Example Sentences

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