1
as in sleepy
desiring or needing sleep
trying to teach somnolent students on a very hot day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hypnotic
tending to cause sleep
the somnolent hum of insects in the grass
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Recent Examples of somnolent
Cliché upon cliché, The Magic of Belle Isle rests heavy on the considerable charm of its actors and the utterly somnolent predictability of the storytelling.
—
Will Leitch, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
While there are a half-dozen or so worthy books on the list, most of them are somnolent doctoral theses that probably should not have been acquired in the first place.
—George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 21 May 2025
The nighttime strike on somnolent Russians might not have been possible just a few months ago.
—David Axe, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Washington’s running game, which had been somnolent for a month, came back to life Saturday, gaining 182 yards against the Lions.
—David Aldridge, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somnolent
Will Leitch, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
While there are a half-dozen or so worthy books on the list, most of them are somnolent doctoral theses that probably should not have been acquired in the first place.
—George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 21 May 2025
The nighttime strike on somnolent Russians might not have been possible just a few months ago.
—David Axe, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Washington’s running game, which had been somnolent for a month, came back to life Saturday, gaining 182 yards against the Lions.
—David Aldridge, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for somnolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for somnolent
Adjective
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The once-sleepy CPU market has taken off as agentic workloads shift compute needs beyond Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) that have ruled AI thus far.—
Katie Tarasov,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
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One year after Naqvi’s arrest at Heathrow, a media exposé into the working practices at a branch of the Nairobi Women’s Hospital in Nakuru, a sleepy town three hours’ drive from the Kenyan capital, gave a sense of the pressures staff were under during the final months of Abraaj’s ownership.—
Hettie O'Brien,
The Dial,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That smell of Sumatra — earthy, smoky, almost hypnotic.—
Nick El Hajj,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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There’s a huge connection between the hypnotic energy of your music and your live PORTAL shows.—
Danny Klein,
SPIN,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Getting a full eight hours of sleep and still feeling drowsy?—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
22 Mar. 2026
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Legal Consequences of Drowsy Driving While drowsy or fatigued driving may not lead to criminal charges as serious as DUI or DWI, a person who is accused of driving unsafely may still face penalties.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Somnolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/somnolent. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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