noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
General-American:/ˈsɑm.nə.ləns/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S AA1 M N AH0 L AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A state of drowsiness or sleepiness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a very sleepy state
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
sleepiness causes many driving accidents
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sleepiness, drowsiness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: temporary state
Narrower terms: oscitancy, oscitance
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French somnolence, from Late Latin somnolentia, derived from Latin somnus (“sleep”), from Proto-Indo-European *swépnos (“sleep, slumber”).
Across languages
Translations
33 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Belarusian:
санлі́васць
(sanlívascʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Belarusian:
аспа́ласць
(aspálascʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Bulgarian:
сънли́вост
(sǎnlívost)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Chinese Mandarin:
睡意
(shuìyì)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Dutch:
slaperigheid
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Finnish:
somnolenssi
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Finnish:
uneliaisuus
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
French:
somnolence
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Georgian:
ძილიანობა
(ʒilianoba)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Georgian:
სომნოლენცია
(somnolencia)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
German:
Somnolenz
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
German:
Schläfrigkeit
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Greek:
υπνηλία
(ypnilía)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Hungarian:
álmosság
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Hungarian:
aluszékonyság
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Hungarian:
szomnolencia
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Italian:
sonnolenza
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Japanese:
眠気
(nemuke)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Korean:
졸음
(joreum)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Persian:
خوابآلودی
(xâb-âludi)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Polish:
senność
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Portuguese:
sonolência
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Russian:
сонли́вость
(sonlívostʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Spanish:
somnolencia
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Spanish:
soñolencia
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Thai:
ความง่วง
(kwaam-ngûuang)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ottoman Turkish:
طالغینلق
(dalgınlık)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
сонли́вість
(sonlývistʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
со́нність
(sónnistʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
сонно́та
(sonnóta)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
сонли́виці
(sonlývyci)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
оспа́лість
(ospálistʹ)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
Ukrainian:
сонни́ці
(sonnýci)
— a state of drowsiness or sleepiness
