weariness

[ weer-ee-nis ]

noun

1. the state or condition of being physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain, etc.; tiredness; fatigue:

   Weariness, pain, and hunger made the wretched man fall asleep, and he slept the whole night.

2. impatience or dissatisfaction with something tedious or burdensome (often used in combination):

   The people have begun to show a war-weariness and apathy brought on by the long, brutal struggle for independence.

   At 50, the singer still has boyish charm with none of the weariness of life—he’s curious, passionate, and engaged.

3. the quality of causing such fatigue or dissatisfaction; a tiring or tedious quality:

   The summer heat only heightened the weariness of their journey.

Other Words From

• self-wea·ri·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of weariness¹

weary ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

Isolating in his bedroom in December, he made a plea to those weary of the pandemic.

From Washington Post

Gates was already the world’s richest man and was weary from the long antitrust saga.

From Washington Post

They were hundreds of miles apart, but on the night when the devastating news broke, they might as well have all been from the same small towns, the same struggling economies, the same weary fan bases.

From Ozy

I am weary of all the driving — typically five to six hours one-way.

From Washington Post

With a disease-weary nation awaiting deliverance, the workers distributing vaccines are trying not to waste a single drop.

From Washington Post

So war-weariness from Afghanistan and Iraq has more of us singing Give Peace a chance, right?

From The Daily Beast

And you can sense the weariness in Royko when he says he would like to walk away from it all and try to write a comic novel.

From The Daily Beast

Many of our leaders and pundits complain about the weariness and wariness of war, but the nature of conflict has changed.

From The Daily Beast

I have to admit, and in the face of all my weariness and skepticism, I like the idea.

From The Daily Beast

The ISI monitors war weariness and polls here (and in Europe) very closely.

From The Daily Beast

Bel is broken, Nebo is destroyed: their idols are put upon beasts and cattle, your burdens of heavy weight even unto weariness.

From Project Gutenberg

To look towards the door often, consult your watch, or give tokens of weariness, are all marks of ill-breeding.

From Project Gutenberg

Neither misanthropy, indolence, nor weariness were his permanent moods.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he lurched in his saddle as from exhaustion or weariness, and straightened himself again with both hands on the bridle.

From Project Gutenberg

You pretended labour and weariness, when you brought your offering; and so made it of no value, by offering it with an evil mind.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• boredom
• ennui
• fatigue