Weary

How to spell weary

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce weary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does weary mean?

1. adjectiveFeeling very tired, especially after long effort or strain.
2. verbTo make or become tired, or to lose patience with something.

Weary in a sentence

• adjective

  After the long drive home she felt utterly weary.

• verb

  The constant noise began to weary everyone in the office.

• adjective

  The weary commuters slumped in their seats on the late train.

• verb

  Long arguments weary me far more than hard work does.

Where does weary come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Weary descends from the Old English werig, an adjective meaning 'tired' or 'exhausted', which is thought to derive from a root suggesting wandering or stumbling about, as a footsore traveller might. It belongs to a small native Germanic family, with cousins in older forms of Dutch and German that carried the same sense of being worn out. The spelling has shifted considerably over the centuries: the early 'wer-' came to be written 'wea-', placing it alongside words like 'wear' and 'weather' even though their origins differ. Because the modern pronunciation rhymes with 'eerie' and 'dreary', the 'ea' spelling is the main trap, since the sound alone might tempt a writer toward 'weery'. By the medieval period the word had also grown a figurative side, describing a mind tired of something rather than just a tired body, and that broader sense is the one most adults use today.

How the word is built

• wear- (from Old English werig: tired)
• -y (adjective suffix)