wide-awake

[ wahyd-uh-weyk ]

adjective

1. fully awake; with the eyes wide open.

   Synonyms: unsleeping, astir, wakeful, open-eyed, awake

   Antonyms: restful, sleeping, asleep, somnolent, lethargic, drowsy, sleepy

2. alert, keen, or knowing:

   a wide-awake young woman.

   Synonyms: astute, quick, sharp, vigilant, watchful

noun

1. Also called wide-awake hat. a soft, low-crowned felt hat.
2. the sooty tern.

wide-awake

adjective

1. fully awake
2. keen, alert, or observant

noun

1. Also calledwide-awake hat a hat with a low crown and very wide brim

Derived Forms

• ˈwide-aˈwakeness, noun

Other Words From

• wide-a·wakeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wide-awake¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Idioms and Phrases

Fully awake; also, very alert. For example, He lay there, wide awake, unable to sleep , or She was wide awake to all the possibilities . The wide in this idiom alludes to the eyes being wide open. [Early 1800s]