sleepier; sleepiest
1
a
: ready to fall asleep
b
: of, relating to, or characteristic of sleep
2
: sluggish as if from sleep : lethargic
also : having little activity
a sleepy coastal village
3
: sleep-inducing
sleepily adverb
sleepiness noun

Examples of sleepy in a Sentence

She felt sleepy and went to bed. the sleepy children were carried up to bed
Recent Examples on the Web The restaurants and bars all over the valley have been vastly expanding along with the cocktail culture, and has gone from a sleepy town that would shut down around 10PM to having lots of fun options for a night out downtown. Noël Burgess, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: At last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2024 In 2007, the league was a sleepy soccer backwater with few teams, fewer fans and players who weren’t necessarily household names in their own households. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024 Here is a performer with a strong face: sleepy eyes, scarred upper lip, mouth that curls into a snarl, prominent forehead. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 For Silvera, Florida was too sleepy compared to NYC. Laura Ness, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024 Set on a majestic cliff overlooking the bright turquoise ocean, the oldest continuously operating hotel in the Caribbean attracts return visitors for its remote location on the sleepy southeast coast of Barbados away from the crowds. Anna Haines, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 The sleepy socialist town built new alpine and Nordic ski trails, ski jumps, bobsled and luge runs, a skating rink, dozens of apartment blocks and numerous hotels. Sabina Niksic, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2024 There is some hope for cities relying on young people to revive sleepy downtowns. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sleepy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sleepy was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near sleepy

Cite this Entry

“Sleepy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleepy. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sleepy

adjective
sleepier; sleepiest
1
: ready to fall asleep
2
: quietly inactive
a sleepy village
sleepily adverb
sleepiness noun

Medical Definition

sleepy

adjective
sleepier; sleepiest
: ready to fall asleep
sleepiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sleepy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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