Synonyms of sleepy

sleepy

adjective

ˈslē-pē 

1

as in sleeping

desiring or needing sleep

the sleepy children were carried up to bed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sleeping
• resting
• drowsy
• somnolent
• slumberous
• dozy
• asleep
• dormant
• nodding
• slumbering
• dozing
• yawning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• awake
• conscious
• alert
• wakeful
• wide-awake
• restless
• sleepless
• restive
• insomniac

2

as in dull

slow to move or act

a sleepy little town on the coast

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dull
• lazy
• motionless
• lethargic
• resting
• sluggish
• torpid
• inactive
• quiescent
• asleep
• inert
• drugged
• dormant
• static
• listless
• dead
• still
• indolent
• apathetic
• shiftless
• drowsy
• languorous
• slothful
• sedentary
• slack
• dopey
• ambitionless
• inanimate
• comatose
• lazyish
• sluggard
• catatonic
• sluggardly
• somnambulant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• active
• busy
• engaged
• occupied
• working
• energetic
• dynamic
• spirited
• lively
• vigorous
• vivacious
• vital
• kinetic
• animated
• sprightly
• bouncing
• industrious
• perky
• hardworking
• diligent
• peppy
• assiduous
• springy
• zippy
• sedulous

3

as in hypnotic

tending to cause sleep

the sleepy drone of his voice made staying awake a challenge

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hypnotic
• drowsy
• soporific
• opiate
• soothing
• somnolent
• narcotic
• hypnotizing
• slumberous
• quieting
• somniferous
• sedative
• relaxing
• depressant
• comforting
• restful
• relaxant
• settling
• calming
• dulling
• tranquilizing
• anesthetic
• analgesic
• deadening
• lulling
• stupefying
• benumbing
• numbing
• mesmerizing
• anesthetizing
• pacifying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stimulant
• waking
• stimulating
• rousing
• arousing
• energizing
• refreshing
• awakening
• bracing
• reviving
• restorative
• invigorating
• stimulative
• wakening
• stimulatory

4

as in slow

lacking in gaiety, movement, or animation

a sleepy party that was mostly attended by the same boring people I work with

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slow
• dead
• vacant
• comatose
• idle
• sluggish
• dormant
• lethargic
• torpid
• inactive
• off
• inert
• free
• latent
• fallow
• inoperative

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• busy
• bustling
• lively
• vibrant
• alive
• humming
• thriving
• animated
• flourishing
• buzzing
• astir
• teeming
• swarming
• overflowing
• abounding
• thronging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sleepy

Many competitors often report feeling sluggish, sleepy, or uncomfortable afterward. — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026

His long white oval scleras and perfect-circle black pupils, sometimes open and sometimes closed, are always inexplicably expressive—managing to seem happy, sad, scared, sleepy, shifty, angry, eager, alarmed, mischievous, or murderous. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

The year is 1915, and while the First World War may be raging in Europe, the sleepy Isles of Scilly — off England’s Cornish coastline — seem distantly removed from the conflict. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 1 July 2026

With one acrobatic slam after another, Yaxel Lendeborg cut through the sleepy atmosphere blanketing the pregame layup lines, injecting some energy into a crowd that was waiting to watch the team’s first summer league game at Chase Center on Friday. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 4 July 2026