What does wideawake mean?
Wideawake means completely awake, especially when a person is unable or unwilling to sleep. It often conveys more than simple wakefulness: someone who is wideawake is unusually alert, watchful, or aware of the surrounding situation. The expression is commonly used predicatively, as in “The child was wide awake,” and can also suggest a state of intense wakefulness during an inconvenient time, such as remaining awake throughout the night. In figurative use, wideawake describes a person or mind that is attentive to details, responsive to danger, or receptive to an important development. The word has an immediate, vivid quality because it evokes someone with eyes fully open and senses engaged. It is therefore useful not only for describing sleep and wakefulness but also for emphasizing vigilance, awareness, and readiness to respond.
Fully awake, especially unable or unwilling to sleep; alert and watchful.
"A sudden noise left the whole house wide awake."
Often used predicatively and commonly written as two words in ordinary prose.
A person who is fully awake.
"Only the wide-awakes in the quiet house heard the distant bell."
Rare and chiefly literary.
The plural is rarely needed because the noun itself is uncommon and literary.
"The two wideawakes continued talking until dawn."
Wideawake means not merely conscious, but alert enough to notice everything happening around you.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wideawake
The closed form wideawake developed from the earlier English phrase “wide awake,” combining wide in the sense of fully or completely with awake. The expression is English in origin and belongs to the Germanic vocabulary of wakefulness. Awake is closely related to wake, waken, and awaken, which preserve the same historical root concerning waking and rousing from sleep.
Related word forms
How wideawake is actually used
The phrase is often used predicatively, as in “was wide awake,” and is generally written as two words in running prose; hyphenation is also common when it precedes a noun. The noun is rare and chiefly literary.
Easily confused with wideawake
Wide awake is normally written as two words in ordinary prose, while wideawake is the closed dictionary form.