Weary Meaning
/ˈwɪə̯ɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjHaving the strength exhausted by toil or exertion; tired; fatigued.
adjHaving one's patience, relish, or contentment exhausted; tired; sick.
Sentence Examples
I was weary of doing the same thing over and over again.
Come on, sit down and rest your weary legs.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After walking for ten miles under the hot sun, the hiker felt extremely ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The travelers were ____ after their long and tiring trip, so they decided to stay at a local inn today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English wery, weri, from Old English wēriġ (“weary”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōrīg, *wōrag (“weary”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian wuurich (“weary, tired”), West Frisian wurch (“tired”), Dutch dialectal wurrig (“exhausted”), Old Saxon wōrig (“weary”), Old High German wōrag, wuarag (“drunken”), Latvian vārgs (“weak”), Lithuanian vergas (“slave”), Latvian vergs (“slave”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I care not for my spirits if my legs were not weary."
— c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
"[I] am weary, thinking of your task."
— 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Weariness:
"There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls."
— 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091:
"With the lift in the block still out of order, they climbed the flights and flights of steps. When Dad finally put the key in the front door, both were weary beyond words."
— 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
"[Henry Chang:] Could I persuade you to accept my hospitality until such time as you should grow weary of me?
[Shangai Lily:] I'm weary of you now."
— 1932, Jules Furthman, Shanghai Express:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After walking for ten miles under the hot sun, the hiker felt extremely ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The travelers were ____ after their long and tiring trip, so they decided to stay at a local inn today.