sleepy

adjective

ˈslē-pē How to pronounce sleepy (audio)
Definition of sleepynext
1
as in sleeping
desiring or needing sleep the sleepy children were carried up to bed

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dull
slow to move or act a sleepy little town on the coast

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3
as in hypnotic
tending to cause sleep the sleepy drone of his voice made staying awake a challenge

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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

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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 sleepy Current therapies, stimulants and sodium oxybates, carry risk of misuse, and patients still feel sleepy while taking them. — Ed Silverman, STAT, 6 Aug. 2026 SpaceX employs about 5,000 people directly in the Brownsville region and has transformed a sleepy border area into an aerospace powerhouse. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026 This week, kids will learn some new dance moves, maybe even find a new favorite sleepy time song. — Parents, 31 July 2026 Nelson was born and raised in Abbott, a sleepy hamlet of Hill County just an hour’s drive south of Dallas. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for sleepy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sleepy
  1. sleeping
  2. dull
  3. hypnotic
  4. slow
  5. resting
  6. lazy
  7. drowsy
  8. motionless
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
  • Moreover, in a study of 29 users of Melanotan II published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, some users reported their skin turning a dull gray color.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Still, her stellar performance can’t elevate the series beyond its dull monotony.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of dull
Adjective
  • Often unfurling over the course of entire afternoons and evenings, González’s knotty, hypnotic works typically test the expectations (and patience) of viewers, who are left to figure out what’s improvised and what isn’t.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Caillois employs this term throughout his 1960 book Méduse et cie (The Mask of Medusa), which traces this hypnotic phenomenon through human as well as natural history.
    — Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of hypnotic
Adjective
  • Researchers used the device to process time-series data, including signals that contained both rapid and slow changes.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 Aug. 2026
  • However, there is another, slower and more insidious evacuation taking place, and that is the steady migration from rural areas all around the world to burgeoning cities, which now host more than half the world’s population.
    — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of slow
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
  • New York — A $15 million aquatic center with a six-lane pool, waterslides and a lazy river opened in Quincy, Washington, a few weeks ago.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Mark Garcia, of Irvine, who won second place in the amateur category, found a mother harbor seal with her pup on a lazy afternoon at Treasure Island Beach.
    — Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of lazy
Adjective
  • Allergy drugs can ease those symptoms and make people drowsy, potentially offering relief from insomnia.
    — Kara Smythe, EverydayHealth.com, 15 May 2026
  • Fleets that deployed the company's AI dash cams, which detect drowsy or distracted driving, saw a 73% reduction in accidents after 30 months, according to company data from more than 2,600 customers.
    — TIME Contributors, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of drowsy
Adjective
  • Video shows the woman lying face up, motionless on the sidewalk as the man yelled and pointed at her face.
    — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Reading someone’s brain during a real conversation is hard because the conventional method requires lying motionless inside an MRI scanner.
    — Yigit Topoglu, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of motionless

Browse Nearby Words

sleepwear
sleepy
sleigh bed
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Cite this Entry

“Sleepy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sleepy. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of sleepy for Spanish Speakers

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