sleepy

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sleepy

/ˈsliːpi/

Rhymes with -iːpi

Where it comes from

From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

adjective sleepier · sleepiest · sleeby

Tired; feeling the need for sleep. She wak'd her sleepy crew.
Similar: tired
Suggesting tiredness. At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, onl
Similar: jaded, weary, bleareyed, bleary, bleary-eyed, bone-tired, bushed, tired out, spent, wrecked, drained, dog-tired
Tending to induce sleep. a sleepy drink or potion
Similar: hypnotic, soporific, dormitive, hypnic, slumberous, somniferous, somnific, somnolent, soporiferous, soporous, stupefacient, stupefactive
figuratively Dull; lazy. 'Tis not sleepy business; But must be looked to speedily and strongly.
Similar: heavy, sluggish
figuratively Quiet; without bustle or activity. a sleepy English village

noun sleepies

in plural, informal, uncountable The gum that builds up in the eye; sleep, gound. "Did he always leave the sleepy in his eyes?" "Never removed it; let it build up in the comers of his eyes over the weeks until it was heavy enough to fall […]
Similar: sleep
Australia, countable, uncountable Shingleback.

verb

childish To sleep. Gabe stays up far too late and gets up far too early and spends far too many hours at the studio. Gabe is trying to get his records produced, and to get all his other work done before Gabe flies out to frisco for AES. Gabe go sleepy now.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: asleep, sleepy-eyed, sleepyheaded, sleeping, drowsy, dormant, soporose, tired, fatigued, weary, petite, little, small, mangy, inactive, menstrual

adjective

Translations

Every language

adj feeling the need for sleep

Español	tener sueño, cansado, adormecido, soñoliento, somnoliento, dormijoso (desus.)
한국어	졸리다 jollida
日本語	眠い nemui, 眠たい nemutai
中文	昏昏欲睡 hūnhūnyùshuì, 睏 /困 kùn, 瞌睡 kēshuì, 睏倦 /困倦 kùnjuàn
हिन्दी	उनींदा unīndā, निद्रालु nidrālu, निंदासा nindāsā
Português	sonolento, com sono
Français	somnolent, ensommeillé, ensuqué
Deutsch	schläfrig
Italiano	assonnato, sonnolento
Ελληνικά	νυσταγμένος nystagménos, νυσταλέος nystaléos
Română	somnoros, somnolent
Русский	со́нный sónnyj, сонли́вый sonlívyj, за́спанный záspannyj, дремли́вый dremlívyj
العربية	نَعْسَان naʕsān, نَاعِس nāʕis
עברית	מנומנם, מְנֻמְנָם m'numnám

adj suggesting tiredness

Français	endormi

adj quiet; without bustle or activity

Deutsch	verschlafen

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Cite this

MLA

"sleepy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sleepy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sleepy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sleepy

Chicago

"sleepy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sleepy.

BibTeX

@misc{sleepy_2026,
  title = {sleepy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sleepy},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}