Home / Synonyms / tired

Another word for tired

Tired (adjective): Feeling a need for rest or sleep, or lacking energy because of effort, stress, or overuse. Below are 19 synonyms across 3 senses. Tap a chip for its nuance and an example.

Most formal: banal, weary, spentStrongest: exhausted, spent, fatigued

Writing for

19 synonyms shown

Chip depth = intensity (mild → extreme) dots = formality (slang → academic)

Sleepy exhausted · adjective

needing rest or sleep

Bored of · adjective

fed up because something has become dull or repetitive

Overused stale · adjective

no longer fresh, effective, or appealing

Find the right strength and register

Drag the amber target to how strong and how formal you need the word to be. The three closest synonyms light up.

sleepywearyexhaustedspentfatiguedbeatdone in
milderintensity →stronger
formal ↑

You asked for: equal strength, neutral register

  1. sleepy — more about drowsiness than depletion
  2. weary — formal, suggests persistent fatigue
  3. spent — formal, emphasizes energy fully used up

The dashed ring marks “tired” itself: neutral strength, neutral register.

Synonyms for tired in your sentence

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How to choose

Choose the synonym that matches the cause of the tiredness: use sleepy or tired for needing rest, exhausted or spent for stronger physical depletion, and bored, fed up, or weary of for emotional or mental fatigue. For writing, weary, fatigued, hackneyed, and banal sound more formal than everyday tired.

Antonyms of tired

All synonyms at a glance

SynonymStrengthFormalityBest for
sleepy2/5neutralcasual, business
weary3/5formalacademic, business, creative
exhausted5/5neutralacademic, business, creative, casual
spent4/5formalacademic, business, creative
fatigued4/5formalacademic, business
beat4/5casualcasual
done in4/5casualcasual
bored3/5neutralacademic, business, casual
fed up4/5casualcasual, business
sick of4/5casualcasual
bored stiff4/5casualcasual
weary of3/5formalacademic, business, creative
jaded4/5formalacademic, creative, business
stale3/5neutralacademic, business, creative, casual
hackneyed4/5formalacademic, creative
trite4/5formalacademic, business, creative
banal4/5academicacademic, creative
shopworn3/5formalbusiness, creative
overused3/5neutralacademic, business, creative, casual

Questions about synonyms for tired

What is the most formal or academic synonym for tired?

Fatigued is the most neutral formal choice for physical tiredness, especially in medical or academic writing. For mental or emotional weariness, weary can sound more literary or formal, but it is less clinical.

What is a stronger synonym than tired?

Exhausted is stronger than tired and suggests a much deeper lack of energy. Spent and done in are also strong, but they are more informal and conversational.

What is a milder synonym than tired?

Sleepy is usually milder than tired and points more specifically to drowsiness. It works best when the person mainly needs sleep rather than being fully drained.

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