drift off
Start to sleep
To drift off is to fall asleep gradually, usually unintentionally: I drifted off during the movie.
The image is of consciousness slowly floating away rather than shutting down abruptly.
Someone can also drift off in conversation, meaning their attention wanders: Sorry, I drifted off for a second—what were you saying?
Light, restful unconsciousness
- dozeBrief light rest
- snoozeLight brief sleep
- napBrief daytime rest
- drowsinessState of near-sleep
dreamland · somnolence · bedtime · nighttime · REM · pillow · blanket · yawn
Soothing song for babies
- gentleSoft and kind
- softYielding to touch
- murmurSoft, indistinct continuous sound
- whisperSpeech without full voice
hush · rocking · swaying · cozy · warmth · cradling · melodic · humming
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- wanderingTraveling with no fixed course
- musingReflective contemplation
- distractionThing diverting one's attention
woolgathering · spacing · zoning · faraway · abstraction · preoccupation · contemplation · trance
Unable to concentrate
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- absentmindedInattentive to immediate surroundings
- zoningSectioning areas by use
- spacingInterval arrangement between objects
disengaged · preoccupied · oblivious · glazed · wandering · disconnected · blank · unaware
slumber
Light, restful unconsciousness
drowsiness · dreamland · somnolence · bedtime · nighttime · REM · pillow · blanket · yawn · eyelids
lullaby
Soothing song for babies
whisper · hush · rocking · swaying · cozy · warmth · cradling · melodic · humming · rhythmic
reverie
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- wanderingTraveling with no fixed course
- musingReflective contemplation
distraction · woolgathering · spacing · zoning · faraway · abstraction · preoccupation · contemplation · trance · haze
distracted
Unable to concentrate
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- absentmindedInattentive to immediate surroundings
- zoningSectioning areas by use
spacing · disengaged · preoccupied · oblivious · glazed · wandering · disconnected · blank · unaware · dazed
exhaustion
State of utter depletion
- wearinessState of being drained
- tirednessState of needing rest
- drowsinessState of near-sleep
sleepiness · heaviness · lethargy · worn-out · spent · flagging · fading · drooping · sagging · depleted
- sleepsleep, sleeping, nap, doze, slumber
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- mental lapseslapse, forget, slip, misplace, overlook
- distractionsdistraction, digression, tangent, sidetrack, diversion
- drifting awayfade, float, glide, wander, slip
- tuning outignore, zone out, space out, block out, filter out
drift offwake up
Become conscious again
awaken · come to · rouse · stir · come around
drift offperk up
Become more alert
focus · tune in · concentrate · engage · pay attention
off, drift, drifting, drifter, drifted, adrift, drifts, driftwood, snowdrift