restlessness

[ rest-lis-nis ]

noun

1. the inability to remain still or at rest, or a mood characterized by this:

   To overcome younger students’ restlessness and anxiety, one expert suggests class routines, role play activities, and other calming exercises.

2. the fact of being unable to sleep or find a comfortable position in which to sleep:

   I haven't been sleeping so well lately—a mix of restlessness and staying up too late watching movies.

3. discontent or dissatisfaction that drives one to keep looking for solutions, alternatives, or new things:

   We are incomplete beings yearning to be made whole, dogged by a sense of unease and restlessness.

4. perpetual movement:

   Growing up on the coast of Sydney as he did, his music is influenced by the restlessness of the ocean.

Word History and Origins

Origin of restlessness¹

restless ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

In 1798, Scottish doctor Sir Alexander Crichton wrote about a “disease of attention” with “an unnatural degree of mental restlessness.”

From BBC

In 1798, Scottish doctor Sir Alexander Crichton wrote about a “disease of attention” with “an unnatural degree of mental restlessness.”

From BBC

“I kept listening to it over and over again because I felt so on the periphery; people who look like me are no less American, but we were perceived so differently. This album was hitting at the restlessness and rage and powerlessness I was feeling, while also being so unafraid to question what it means to be American during that fraught and scary time in our country’s history.”

From Los Angeles Times

McKinney’s Ogun is the clearest presence on stage, a reflection not only of his more single-minded character but also of the lucidity of his playing. iLongwe gives vent to the furious restlessness inside Oshoosi without losing sight of the grief that’s animating it.

From Los Angeles Times

To fight restlessness, he started working at Hard Times, a friend’s pop-up record store, in November.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• agitation
• anxiety
• disquiet
• ferment
• insomnia
• instability
• jitters
• nervousness
• uneasiness