1
as in sleeping
desiring or needing sleep
the sleepy children were carried up to bed
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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
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Recent Examples of sleepy
All this, while equity indexes have held near record highs, corporate-debt spreads are subdued and bond-market volatility remains sleepy.
—
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026
And the film’s pace and mood have certainly adopted the casual, sleepy rhythms of the sport.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2026
In the slow and sleepy morning hours, Allison Winston laid out a solid game plan to her crew at the Homeless Resource Center in uptown Charlotte.
—Charlotte Observer, 23 Jan. 2026
This recently opened hotel on the sleepy island of Folegandros is set high on the cliffside, surrounded by 80 acres of rugged nature and with the Aegean Sea directly in front.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleepy
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026
And the film’s pace and mood have certainly adopted the casual, sleepy rhythms of the sport.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2026
In the slow and sleepy morning hours, Allison Winston laid out a solid game plan to her crew at the Homeless Resource Center in uptown Charlotte.
—Charlotte Observer, 23 Jan. 2026
This recently opened hotel on the sleepy island of Folegandros is set high on the cliffside, surrounded by 80 acres of rugged nature and with the Aegean Sea directly in front.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleepy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sleepy
Adjective
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And that is gratifying after two episodes of somewhat dull table-setting.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
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All in all, 2026 asks you to grow up without growing dull or losing your sense of wonder.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Other artists of this era sought to intervene, guerrilla style, in the apparatuses of advertising, in order to shake consumers from their hypnotic slumber.—
Michael Cowan,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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Corey’s enormous productions and Ritchie’s conversational flows feel hypnotic in dark rooms over large sound systems, but on an intimate listen, moments like these meander.—
Benny Sun,
Pitchfork,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Some folks who were moving a little slow, some folks wanted to dilute the Canadiana or the Big C Canadian of it.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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In practice, the process is slow, burdensome, and uncertain.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
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Taking minoxidil orally can support the hair follicle cycle and trigger anagen (the resting phase) prematurely.—
Jessie Quinn,
Flow Space,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This dreamy weather makes December through April the best time for spending lazy hours on some of Jamaica's best beaches.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Jan. 2026
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There are lazy ways to do this, and there are more robust ways to do so.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But President Trump’s decision to acknowledge a covert U.S. strike on Venezuelan territory, in an interview with an obscure local news outlet on Friday, set off a scramble in a drowsy Washington that has become a hallmark of the president.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Dec. 2025
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But on his debut solo album, Heavy Metal, the rising art-rock star reveals his hand as a singer-songwriter extraordinaire, toning things down and slipping into a drowsy falsetto.—
Jason Lamphier,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Video footage that circulated on social media shows the tourist lying motionless on the snowy ground, with the leopard sitting nearby.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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Footage shows a woman, who reportedly edged as close as 10 feet to the leopard, lying motionless in the snow as the predator hovered nearby after the mauling.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The art market, in whiplash fashion, experienced pupil-dilating highs just after the pandemic, a lethargic two-year slump, then a sudden multi-billion-dollar rebound in the fall.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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The humane society said the dogs were found in the back of the property, shaking and lethargic, which are behaviors consistent with prolonged cold exposure and hypothermia.—
Madeline Bartos,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sleepy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sleepy. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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