tiredness

tiredness — noun

1. the physical or mental state of having very little energy because your body or m

1.nounB2
Definition

the physical or mental state of having very little energy because your body or mind needs rest, especially after activity or work

Example

When the long flight finally ended, Astrid could barely walk off the plane from tiredness.

tiredness after long travel

The doctor told Eshe that her tiredness came from working night shifts without enough sleep.

tiredness + caused by [cause]

Common collocations
  • deep tiredness
  • extreme tiredness
  • fight tiredness
  • cause tiredness
  • tiredness from
  • tiredness after
  • reduce tiredness
Synonyms
  • fatigue

    more formal or medical in tone; often used in clinical or scientific contexts

  • exhaustion

    stronger in degree — suggests complete loss of energy, not just a need for rest

  • weariness

    more literary or dated; can also imply emotional or spiritual tiredness rather than physical

Antonyms
  • energy

    the positive state of having strength and enthusiasm available

Usage Note

Tiredness is an uncountable noun. It cannot be used with the indefinite article 'a' or in plural form.

Common Mistakes

I have a tiredness after work.
I feel tired after work.
'tiredness' cannot be used with 'a'; use the adjective 'tired' instead.
She suffered from many tirednesses.
She suffered from tiredness.
'tiredness' has no plural form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Tiredness is the most general and everyday word for the feeling of needing rest after activity. Fatigue is more formal and is the preferred term in medical or clinical writing — a doctor might diagnose 'chronic fatigue' but not 'chronic tiredness.' Exhaustion is a much stronger word: it describes a total, extreme loss of energy where functioning becomes very difficult, not just a mild need for sleep. Weariness is more literary and can describe both physical tiredness and emotional or spiritual discouragement from long effort. For example, you might say 'After the long hike, I felt tiredness in my legs' (everyday), 'The nurse reported symptoms of fatigue' (clinical), 'The runners collapsed from exhaustion' (extreme), or 'A sense of weariness settled over the long-distance hiker' (literary).

tiredness ↗fatigue ↗exhaustionweariness

Common collocations

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from the adjective 'tired' (the past participle of the verb 'tire', meaning to become weary or exhausted) plus the noun-forming suffix '-ness', which turns adjectives into nouns expressing a state or condition. The word entered English in the 16th century, following the pattern of other abstract quality nouns.