WAKEFULNESS Synonyms: 7 Similar and Opposite Words

wakefulness

noun

as in insomnia

the inability to obtain adequate sleep a nagging wakefulness that seemed resistant to all of the standard home remedies

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wakefulness But in people with narcolepsy, such boundaries become blurred, allowing elements of sleep to intrude into wakefulness in varying ways. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 8 July 2026 The clinical data demonstrated significant improvements in wakefulness and reductions in excessive daytime sleepiness at week eight, outperforming the placebo with a generally favorable safety profile. — Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 Daytime light helps set the body’s circadian rhythms, which play an important role in sleep, wakefulness, and other brain and body functions. — Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 25 June 2026 As a result, many night owls feel groggy in the morning because their bodies have not yet fully prepared for wakefulness. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 19 June 2026 That’s followed by periods of contemplation, energized wakefulness, and, purportedly, a vanishing of withdrawal symptoms. — Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026 Everybody wants to sound like her, but no one else can quite replicate the particular sonic grammar of her writing, which unfurls like an intimate dispatch from the blurry edge of sleep and wakefulness. — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 The company’s key asset is cleminorexton (formerly known as ORX750), which seeks to mimic a molecule in the brain, known as orexin, that helps regulate wakefulness. — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2026 For many women, that gentle nudge toward wakefulness was once easy to sleep through. — Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wakefulness

Noun

Ultimately, glorifying sleep deprivation is counterproductive; prioritizing sleep is key for career longevity and productivity, while chronic insomnia leads to impaired judgment and hinders professional growth.

— Mena Mirhom, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Advertisement To be sure, there are a wide range of sleep complaints and disorders including, but not limited to, insomnia, breathing, and movement disorders.

— Joan M. Cook, Time, 31 July 2026

Definition of insomnia

Noun

Mars in Gemini, on the other hand, moves through life with speed, curiosity and mental restlessness.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
Standing on opposite sides of the protests, the pair fall for each other despite the divide, recognizing in one another a restlessness neither can quite name.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 23 July 2026

Definition of restlessness

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wakeful

wakefulness

waken

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“Wakefulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wakefulness. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of wakefulness

noun

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