Synonyms of sleeping

sleeping 1 of 3

adjective

as in asleep

being in a state of suspended consciousness

a roomful of sleeping preschoolers at a daycare center

Synonyms & Similar Words

• asleep
• resting
• napping
• dormant
• at rest
• dozing
• slumbering
• dreaming
• nodding
• drowsy
• sleepy
• somnolent
• comatose
• slumberous
• sleepwalking
• hypnotized
• semiconscious
• reposing
• somnambulant
• mesmerized

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• awake
• sleepless
• wakeful
• aware
• wide-awake
• conscious
• sleepless
• up
• aroused
• awakened
• revived
• wakened
• roused
• astir
• reawakened

sleeping

2 of 3

noun

as in resting

Related Words

• resting
• slumbering
• dozing
• lethargy
• torpidity
• oversleeping
• torpor
• tiredness
• sleepiness
• sluggishness
• drowsiness
• fatigue
• lassitude
• somnolence
• weariness
• doziness

Dissimilar Words

• insomnia
• consciousness
• wakefulness
• awareness
• sleeplessness

sleeping

3 of 3

verb

present participle of sleep

1

as in napping

to be in a state of sleep

the baby slept for the entire length of the car trip

found the night watchman sleeping at his post

Synonyms & Similar Words

• resting
• napping
• dozing
• dreaming
• snoozing
• slumbering
• catnapping
• dropping off
• sleeping in
• hibernating
• nodding off
• drowsing (off)
• oversleeping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• waking
• rising
• arising
• arousing
• awaking

2

as in breeding

to engage in sexual intercourse

if I don't read the tabloids, how will I know who is sleeping with whom this week?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• breeding
• mating
• doing it
• having sex
• copulating
• fornicating
• fooling around

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sleeping

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

Noun

More than 200 of its sailors were receiving treatment for smoke inhalation, a result of a laundry room fire that spread through the ventilation system into the carrier’s sleeping quarters. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026

No matter your sleeping style, there’s an option below that fits your needs, with prices starting at just $220. — Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

Sleeping Accessories Blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows are all must-haves for a storm shelter. — Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2026

People come and go from the bedroom; one woman cradles a sleeping toddler. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026

Jodie Sweetin has revealed details of the unique sleeping scheme she’s devised with husband Mescal Wasilewski. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Aug. 2026

Orexin antagonists were developed as a treatment for insomnia, differing from conventional sleeping pills that induce sedation. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026

The man woke up, managed to escape from his sleeping bag, and then escaped from the bear. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

The shoulders, hips, waist, and legs do not place equal pressure on a sleeping surface. — Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

Verb

Nothing will keep you from sleeping or distract you from studying like itchy bug bites or the constant sneezing and drippy nose of seasonal allergies. — Dr. Jill Grimes, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026

After sleeping on a bus bench and a few trips to the hospital, Lugo landed at Holliday's Helping Hands, or HHH, a network of interim housing facilities started by nurse practitioner Katina Holliday. — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Women figured prominently in many of Mansour’s works, such as the 1984 Flight to Egypt, depicting a mother curled over her sleeping baby. — News Desk, Artforum, 28 Aug. 2026

Health officials also advised residents to place draft guards underneath doors, make sure exterior doors closed tightly and keep doors and unscreened windows closed, especially while sleeping. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026

That means someone who wakes up with a bat in a bedroom may not be able to determine whether they were bitten while sleeping. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Gilmore recalls Vedder actually living in the recording studio, sleeping on a couch. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026

Months after two drunk drivers took the lives of two men, one sleeping at home and another simply driving, deputies shared that both criminal cases ended in the arrests of the drivers on Wednesday. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Most Americans are already sleeping several degrees warmer than what experts suggest. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2026