# sleepy

/ˈsɫipi/ (US) · /slˈiːpi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sleepy
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. tired

adjective · CEFR A1

feeling like you want to sleep.

For teachers: experiencing a physiological desire for sleep; drowsy.

- The warm milk made the toddler feel very sleepy after dinner.
- After a long day of hiking in the mountain air, the entire group felt sleepy and retired to their tents before sunset.

### 2. quiet and inactive

adjective · CEFR B1

describing a place where nothing much happens and it is very quiet.

For teachers: characterised by a lack of activity, excitement, or bustle; often used to describe small towns.

- They moved from the city to a sleepy village by the sea.
- The once sleepy fishing port was transformed into a major tourist destination within a single decade.

### 3. inducing sleep

adjective · CEFR B2

something that makes you feel tired or relaxed.

For teachers: having the quality of inducing drowsiness or a state of relaxation.

- The sleepy music helped the baby fall into a deep rest.
- The afternoon lecture was delivered in such a sleepy monotone that several students struggled to remain attentive.

### 4. eye discharge

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Dialect

the dried substance that sometimes collects in the corners of your eyes while you sleep.

For teachers: the dried mucus or rheum that accumulates in the inner corners of the eyes during sleep.

- He rubbed the sleepy out of his eyes as soon as he woke up.
- The child complained of a scratchy sensation, unaware it was merely a bit of dried sleepy caught in his eyelashes.

Usage: Usually used in the singular in this sense, though 'sleepies' appears in some dialects.

## Examples

- I feel very sleepy after that long lunch.
- The children were sleepy and quiet after spending the entire afternoon playing at the beach.
- The protagonist returns to a sleepy coastal village where the passage of time seems to have halted, contrasting sharply with the frantic pace of his urban life.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.