1
as in slept
to be in a state of sleep
likes to doze through those lazy summer afternoons
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in napped
to sleep lightly or briefly
she dozed fitfully in the car but never fell completely asleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dozed
The couple dozed like babies in the leaves—that cry, that wail, had become their sleep trigger.
—
Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
So Ronny sat up front while Cali dozed in the back, and the trio didn’t speak as the truck cut through the morning.
—Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
So Ronny sat up front while Cali dozed in the back, and the trio didn’t speak as the truck cut through the morning.
—Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dozed
Verb
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This was mostly because Sonia was busy with the German shepherd, who slept behind a gate in the kitchen and barked frantically whenever another parent came to the door.—
Nell Freudenberger,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Even as overnight temperatures hung in the 20s and 30s, immigrants desperate to make appointments at Charlotte’s Department of Homeland Security office slept outside the building in recent weeks.—
Patricia Ortiz,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The deep seat is just asking to be napped on.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
28 Nov. 2025
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Afternoon tea and backgammon were a leisurely ritual for my husband, Ronen, and me while our son, Nadav, napped.—
Alisha Prakash,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Glenn coach Katina Flournoy-Walker rested the Lee sisters — Libby and Jennah — in the win over Lockhart.—
Butch Hart,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Jan. 2026
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Given how easily Liverpool wins in France, perhaps Hugo Ekitike could have been rested there instead of at Bournemouth, for example.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dozed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dozed. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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