asleep
adjective
Simple meaning
Having a numb or prickling sensation accompanied by a degree of unresponsiveness.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhsleepSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əsˈlip
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
of a body part
Having a numb or prickling sensation accompanied by a degree of unresponsiveness.
slang
Inattentive.
In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting.
“Were all asleep when the phone rang.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (of a body part) Having a numb or prickling sensation accompanied by a degree of unresponsiveness.
Used this way, asleep is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use asleep
- “Were all asleep when the phone rang.”adjective
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Change from a waking to a sleeping state.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.