wakeful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈweɪkfəl/ UK /ˈweɪkfʊl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unable or not wanting to sleep; alert and watchful

She spent a long, wakeful night listening to the storm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unable or not wanting to... alert vigilant watchful sleepless awakeinsomniacrestless

Opposites

drowsy sleepy somnolent slumberous

Word family

Derived forms wakefullywakefulness

Related forms wake waken awake watch

Etymology

From wake (Old English wacian/wacan 'to be awake, arise', from Proto-Germanic *wakaną) plus the adjective-forming suffix -ful.

wacian Old English *wakaną Proto-Germanic *weǵ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# wakeful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈweɪkfəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈweɪkfʊl/

## Meanings
1. unable or not wanting to sleep; alert and watchful

## Examples
- She spent a long, wakeful night listening to the storm.

## Synonyms
- alert
- vigilant
- watchful
- sleepless
- awake
- insomniac
- restless

## Antonyms
- drowsy
- sleepy
- somnolent
- slumberous

## Derived Forms
- wakefully
- wakefulness

## Related Forms
- wake
- waken
- awake
- watch

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wacian
- Root: *wakaną
- Root: *weǵ-

## Etymology
From wake (Old English wacian/wacan 'to be awake, arise', from Proto-Germanic *wakaną) plus the adjective-forming suffix -ful.

## AI Etymology
Wakeful is an adjective meaning "unable or not wanting to sleep; alert and watchful". Historically, it is from wake (Old English wacian/wacan 'to be awake, arise', from Proto-Germanic *wakaną) plus the adjective-forming suffix -ful. The visible construction is part of the etymology: wakeful is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The modern meaning, "unable or not wanting to sleep; alert and watchful", follows the base word through the added English ending. The historical chain links Old English wacian, Proto-Germanic *wakaną, and Proto-Indo-European *weǵ-. Close English family members include wakefully, wakefulness, wake, waken, and awake.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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wakeful

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