drowse
/draʊz
/verb [no object]
1Be half asleep; doze intermittently: he was beginning to drowse in his chair...
- He was sitting in a low chair, shoes off and feet buried in the cool sand with his eyes half closed as he drowsed in the sun.
- I fumbled around for soap, found it, and began washing my arms, eyes half closed as I drowsed in the warmth.
- The very first inning in the field, while I was safely drowsing in left field, fending off the midges, a long drive sailed over my head, heading for the outfield fence.
Synonyms
doze, sleep (lightly), nap, take a nap, catnap, take a siesta, rest
informal snooze, have a snooze, snatch/get forty winks, get some shut-eye
British informal kip, have a kip, get some kip
North American informal catch some Zs, catch a few Zs
literary slumber
1.1 [with object] archaic Make sleepy: any birds which the heat has not utterly drowsed...
- And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?
- Despite what interest it might have spiked in me in the first place, it has now subdued to a simple regular lulling sound drowsing my mind.
1.2 archaic Be sluggish or inactive: let not your prudence drowse
noun [in singular]
A light sleep; a condition of being half asleep: she awoke from a light drowse...
- That glow was almost too calming, for the visitors were lulled into a drowse, then as they sank downwards, a peaceful sleep.
- I shook him, until he started to awaken out of his drowse.
Synonyms
doze, light sleep, nap, catnap, siesta, lie-down, rest
informal snooze, forty winks, shut-eye
British informal kip, zizz
literary slumber
Origin
Late 16th century: back-formation from drowsy.
Rhymes
- orchat
- orchella
- orchestic
- orchestics
- orchestra
- orchestral
- orchestral-accompanied
- orchestral flute
- orchestrally
- orchestra pit
- orchestra pitch
- orchestra seat
- orchestra stalls
- orchestrate
- orchestration
- orchestrator
- orchestrelle
- orchestric
- orchestrina
- orchestrine
- orchestrino
- orchestrion
- orchid
- orchidacean
- orchidaceous