Synonyms for sleep
- noun
- verb
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Eternal rest
eternal rest, eternal sleep, quietus dated
2. Nyctinasty — A state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other and the flowers close and droop…
nyctinasty rare, nyctitropism rare
3. Nap
nap, shut-eye informal, sleepy informal, sleepy dust informal, siesta, forty winks informal, crusty slang
Verb
Other
saw logs informal
Definitions
- n. 1
A state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves.
- n. 2
The state of reduced consciousness during which a human or animal rests in a daily rhythm.
I really need some sleep.
- n. 3
An act or instance of sleeping.
I’m just going to have a quick sleep.
- v. 1
To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.
You should sleep eight hours a day.
Related words
Choose the right word
Sleep is the perfection of repose, the most complete rest; slumber is a light and ordinarily pleasant form of sleep.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- nap The moment she'd finished, she lay down for a nap.
- night We bedded down at the roadside park for the night.
- noon We had hoped that the rain would stop before noon.
- coma Tom seems to have fallen into some kind of a coma.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| sleep | rising | |
| nap | rising | |
| night | rising | |
| noon | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- nap1, kip1
- 4 letters
- rest1, noon1, coma2, doze1
- 5 letters
- night1, sopor
- 6 letters
- sleepy2, crusty2, snooze1, repose2, siesta3, drowse
- 7 letters
- slumber2, quietus
- 8 letters
- lethargy3, dormancy3
- 10 letters
- nyctinasty
- 11 letters
- hibernation4
- 12 letters
- nyctitropism
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (coma2 = 2 syllables).