half-asleep
Drifting off slowly
Half-asleep describes a state between waking and sleeping—drowsy, groggy, not fully alert.
Someone half-asleep has either not yet shaken off sleep or is drifting toward it: I was half-asleep when the phone rang.
The term suggests impaired attention or sluggish response: He mumbled something half-asleep and rolled over.
Lightly asleep
- nappingSleeping briefly, often midday
- catnappingBrief light sleep
- noddingMoving head affirmatively
- drowsingLightly, briefly sleeping
resting · slumbering · dozing · shuteye · siesta · fitful · stirring · rousing
Weak and unsteady
- blearyDim from fatigue
- sleepyWanting to doze
- heavy-eyedVisibly fatigued, needing sleep
- drowsyNearly falling asleep
yawning · bleary-eyed · foggy · muzzy · sluggish · torpid · languid · dazed
Utterly depleted of energy
- tiredLacking energy, needing rest
- wearyDeeply tired, spent
- drainedEmptied of resources
- worn-outDepleted through overuse
spent · overtired · jet-lagged · fatigued · knackered
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- distractedUnable to concentrate
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- zoned-outMentally checked out
spacey · preoccupied · hazy · inattentive · oblivious · scatterbrained · autopilot · disoriented
snoozing
Lightly asleep
- nappingSleeping briefly, often midday
- catnappingBrief light sleep
- noddingMoving head affirmatively
drowsing · resting · slumbering · dozing · shuteye · siesta · fitful · stirring · rousing · snooze
groggy
Weak and unsteady
- blearyDim from fatigue
- sleepyWanting to doze
- heavy-eyedVisibly fatigued, needing sleep
drowsy · yawning · bleary-eyed · foggy · muzzy · sluggish · torpid · languid · dazed · stuporous
exhausted
Utterly depleted of energy
worn-out · spent · overtired · jet-lagged · fatigued · knackered
absentminded
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- distractedUnable to concentrate
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
zoned-out · spacey · preoccupied · hazy · inattentive · oblivious · scatterbrained · autopilot · disoriented · muddled
dreamlike
Hazy and fantastical
floating · surreal · trance · reverie · lucid · visions · subconscious · ethereal · phantasmagoria · liminal
- light sleepdozing, napping, snooze, catnap, drowsing
- drowsinesssleepiness, tiredness, grogginess, lethargy, fatigue
- morning feelingsgrogginess, sleepiness, drowsiness, groggy, tired
- sleepnap, doze, slumber, naps, snooze
- dreamsnightmare, dreaming, daydream, nightmares, dreams
half-asleepwide-awake
Fully conscious and attentive
fully awake · wide awake · alert · vigilant · attentive
sleep, half, asleep, halfway, sleeping, sleeper, somnolent, halfhearted