What does weary mean?
Weary is an adjective and verb chiefly associated with tiredness and the need for rest. As an adjective, it describes a person who feels worn out or depleted of energy and can also characterize something tiring, such as a journey or task. Its figurative use often conveys impatience or loss of interest after prolonged repetition: a person may become weary of delays, repeated explanations, or empty promises. As a verb, weary can mean either to cause someone to become tired or to grow tired oneself. The word is common in everyday speech but also has a literary quality, especially when it suggests emotional exhaustion or a jaded response to the world. Compared with the broad word tired, weary often conveys a deeper or more persistent sense of depletion. It is therefore useful not only for physical fatigue but also for describing the mental effects of repeated frustration, strain, or overwork.
Feeling tired and in need of rest; also used figuratively to describe impatience or loss of interest caused by repetition or excess.
"She gave a weary smile before returning to her desk."
The figurative sense often expresses dissatisfaction born of repeated experience rather than simple physical tiredness.
To cause someone to become tired or exhausted, or to grow tired oneself.
"Long periods of uncertainty wore down everyone involved in the negotiations."
When used transitively, it is more literary than the common verb tire.
Weary’s ancestor, Old English wērig, already meant “tired,” so the word has been describing exhaustion for more than a millennium.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does weary come from?
The modern English word descends from Middle English wery and Old English wērig, both meaning “tired” or “exhausted.” It continued in English as an adjective and also developed into the verb meaning “to make or become tired.” The ultimate origin of the Old English word is uncertain, so its documented English development is more certain than any proposed remote linguistic connection.
Related word forms
How weary is actually used
Weary is common in both formal and informal English, but in literary contexts it can suggest not only physical fatigue but also emotional exhaustion, boredom, or spiritual weariness.
Easily confused with weary
Weary means tired or exhausted, whereas wary means alert to possible danger or difficulty.