tiringtir‧ing /ˈtaɪərɪŋ $ ˈtaɪr-/ ●●● S3 adjective 
Examples
We’ve all had a long tiring day.THESAURUStiring making you feel that you want to sleep or rest: · The journey was really tiring.· I’ve had such a tiring day.· It was tiring work.exhausting extremely tiring: · I had to drive nine hours without a break – it was exhausting.· an exhausting week of singing, acting, and dancinghard very tiring and difficult – used about days, journeys etc: · a hard day at work· The last part of the journey was very hard.wearing /ˈweərɪŋ $ ˈwer-/ tiring because you have to use a lot of your mental energy, and often become bored – used about people, situations etc: · I find her constant questions rather wearing.· Kids of that age can be very wearing.· His films always tend to have the same plots, which does get rather wearing after a while.gruelling British English, grueling American English (also punishing) very tiring physically or mentally – used when you have to keep doing something for a long time: · a gruelling journey across the desert· a gruelling race· a punishing schedule· a punishing exercise regimebackbreaking backbreaking work is extremely tiring and needs a lot of physical effort: · Clearing the land was slow backbreaking work.· Laborers were paid $2 a day for backbreaking farm work.something is a killer informal used when saying that something is extremely tiring: · Today was a real killer.fatiguing formal making you feel very tired: · Factory work was repetitive and fatiguing.
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- I've had such a tiring day. I just want to take a bath and go to bed.
- Sam couldn't wait for the whole tiring ordeal to be over.
- The journey was really tiring.
- Working full time can be extremely tiring.
- It had been, I realized, an extremely long and tiring day.
- Long periods of continuous study are very tiring.
- Moving into a situation is usually less tiring than backing away.
- The Colleen - what a tiring girl she sounds - prattled incessantly of horses.
- The whole process was one of the most tiring and yet satisfying things I have ever done in my life.
- Then Huddersfield rallied, and the fiery centre-forward Islip forced his way through to beat the tiring Burnley defenders.
- Three tiring and deafening weeks passed with no obvious change.
- You could try of course, but after a colossal, tiring ridge-walk you would be a dingbat even to think of it.
THESAURUS► tiring
Collocations making you feel that you want to sleep or rest: · The journey was really tiring.· I’ve had such a tiring day.· It was tiring work.
► exhausting extremely tiring: · I had to drive nine hours without a break – it was exhausting.· an exhausting week of singing, acting, and dancing
► hard very tiring and difficult – used about days, journeys etc: · a hard day at work· The last part of the journey was very hard.
► wearing tiring because you have to use a lot of your mental energy, and often become bored – used about people, situations etc: · I find her constant questions rather wearing.· Kids of that age can be very wearing.· His films always tend to have the same plots, which does get rather wearing after a while.
► gruelling British English, grueling American English (also punishing) very tiring physically or mentally – used when you have to keep doing something for a long time: · a gruelling journey across the desert· a gruelling race· a punishing schedule· a punishing exercise regime
► backbreaking backbreaking work is extremely tiring and needs a lot of physical effort: · Clearing the land was slow backbreaking work.· Laborers were paid $2 a day for backbreaking farm work.
► something is a killer informal used when saying that something is extremely tiring: · Today was a real killer.
► fatiguing formal making you feel very tired: · Factory work was repetitive and fatiguing.
Longman Language Activatortired after exercise or work► tired · I usually feel too tired to cook dinner after a day at the office.· We sat down and stretched out our tired legs.· They came back from their long walk, tired but relaxed.· Overly tired drivers can be nearly as dangerous as drunk drivers.get tired (=start to feel tired) · Can we stop soon? I'm getting really tired.
► exhausted very tired, especially because you have been doing a sport or other hard physical activity, and you have used all your energy: · I was exhausted every day when I first started teaching, but I'm used to it now.· The exhausted dancers collapsed as they stepped off the stage.exhausted from/by: · The five of them were still exhausted from their 36-hour train ride.completely/absolutely exhausted: · We had been walking for over 20 miles, and we were completely exhausted.
► tired out/worn out very tired, especially after a lot of hard work, physical exercise, or travelling: · Come in and sit down. You look worn out.· The men had been working in the fields all day and they were tired out.tired out/worn out from/by: · Susan and Lloyd were both tired out from feeding, bathing, and putting the children to bed.
► shattered British very tired, especially as a result of mental effort or worry: · When he came out of the exam he felt shattered.· I've had a terrible day at the office and I'm absolutely shattered.
► weary written so tired after a very long period of working, travelling, or great mental effort that you feel you can hardly continue with what you are doing: · After the hike the two were so weary they fell asleep immediately.· Snow in Boston closed down the airport, causing even more delays for weary travellers.grow weary: · My head grew weary from trying to follow his arguments.
► drained very tired and feeling as if all your energy has gone, especially as a result of an unpleasant emotional experience, such as being worried, upset, or shocked: · By the end of the day I felt drained, with nothing to show for all my work.· After losing the game, Coach Saylor came to the press conference looking and sounding emotionally drained.
► knackered British very tired: · I've been up since four o'clock this morning - I'm absolutely knackered!· When you're training a team sometimes it's good to push them until they're knackered.
► beat/pooped/bushed American informal very tired: · Wow, I'm pooped. I don't feel like going to the gym tonight.· You look beat - what have you been doing?· Will you excuse me? I'm bushed - I think I'll go to bed.
► be dead on your feet/be ready to drop informal to be so tired that you are almost unable to stay standing: · After fourteen hours of non-stop work I was dead on my feet.· For goodness' sake go home! You look ready to drop.
wanting to sleep► tired · The kids were really tired, so we sent them to bed.· I tried to watch the news on TV, but I was too tired to stay awake.
► sleepy if you are sleepy , you want to sleep immediately and your eyes are starting to close: · "Aren't you sleepy?" "No, I took a nap this afternoon."· It's no easy task getting three sleepy children out of the car and into the house.· We arrived at the hotel late at night, and were too sleepy to notice how beautiful it was.
► drowsy starting to sleep because you are in a warm place or because you have drunk alcohol or taken medicine: · You shouldn't drive after taking these pills - they can make you drowsy.· Len had drunk too much wine, and he felt cosy and drowsy in spite of the coffee.
► half-asleep very nearly asleep because you are tired and sleepy: · "Wyatt, what is it?" Sue called, half-asleep, from the bedroom.· Moira was half-asleep when the phone rang and it took her a few seconds to realize what it was.
► can hardly/can barely/can't keep your eyes open to feel so tired that you find it hard to stay awake: · I can't keep my eyes open - I've got to go to bed.· The kids were still full of energy, but Julie and I could hardly keep our eyes open.· By the time we finally got home, I could barely keep my eyes open.
tired and having no interest in anything► lethargic feeling tired and lazy, as if you have no interest in doing anything: · All this hot weather is making me feel lethargic.· Patients with depression may be lethargic during the day and unable to sleep at night.· The spectacular play inspired his lethargic teammates to start playing harder.
► listless feeling tired and not interested in anything, especially because you are ill: · Tim is listless on the job and keeps making dumb mistakes.· The last few years of my mother's life she was tired and listless most of the time.· She had to keep thinking up new ways to hold the attention of her listless pupils.
looking tired► tired · I've never seen him look so tired.tired eyes/face etc · Look at their tired little faces.· She had tired-looking bags under her eyes.
► washed-out especially British looking tired and unhealthy: · The last time I saw Helena she was looking pretty washed-out. Is she alright?
► bleary-eyed with red, half-open eyes, especially as a result of lack of sleep: · After twelve hours of driving Jean was bleary-eyed and stiff.· The bleary-eyed engineers were still hard at work when everyone else arrived the next day.
► drawn someone who looks drawn is tired from illness, worry, or working too hard, and their face looks thin and pale: · Terry's face was pale and drawn when she finally arrived.· The emergency meeting had lasted all night, and the President looked drawn as he read the statement.
to become tired► get tired · If you get tired, just stop for a while.· We talked until we both got tired and decided to go to bed.· Since her illness, she finds that she gets tired really easily.
► flag to start to get tired, especially if you are doing something that needs a lot of energy: · Jenny taught for four hours straight without flagging.· By the fifth game, I could see that my opponent was beginning to flag.
► tire yourself out/wear yourself out/exhaust yourself to become tired by doing things that take a lot of effort: · The baby's stopped crying. He must have tired himself out.· You're going to wear yourself out if you keep working so hard.· My poor mother had exhausted herself trying to get ready for company.
► burn out/burn yourself out to become tired, ill, and unable to continue, as a result of working too hard for too long, especially because you want very much to be successful: · If you don't stop working nights and weekends, you'll burn yourself out.· Most of these high-flying young executives burn out before they're 30.
► run out of steam to become so tired that you do not have enough energy to finish what you are doing, especially when you have been working hard for a long time: · The home team seemed to run out of steam well before the game was over.· Gail started the project with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but at some point she just ran out of steam.
► tire yourself to become tired because of things that you do: · Get plenty of rest and try not to tire yourself unnecessarily.
to make someone feel tired► tire/wear out: tire/wear somebody out · Their constant quarrelling is wearing us out.tire/wear out somebody · The thin air at high altitudes usually tires out people who are not used to the mountains.
► exhaust to make someone feel very tired: · The effort of swimming against the current exhausted him.it exhausts somebody to do something: · It exhausted him to talk for too long, but he loved hearing all the theater gossip.
► tire to make someone feel tired, especially someone who gets tired easily because they are old or ill: · I won't tire you with a long visit. I just wanted to stop in and see how you were doing.
► take it out ofsb/do somebody in informal to make you feel as if you have no energy left: · Dale's a construction worker. You know, that sort of work really takes it out of you.· It wasn't the cooking so much as all the cleaning up that did me in.
► it nearly killed me spoken use this to say that doing a very hard job or activity made you feel extremely tired: · It nearly killed me carrying that fridge up the stairs!
making you feel tired► tiring something that is tiring makes you feel tired: · The journey was really tiring.· Sam couldn't wait for the whole tiring ordeal to be over.a tiring day/week etc: · I've had such a tiring day. I just want to take a bath and go to bed.
► exhausting something that is exhausting makes you feel very weak and very tired: · She's just returned from another exhausting lecture tour.· I had to drive nine hours without a break - it was exhausting.· Starting a small business can be the most physically and mentally exhausting task you've ever done.
► hard a hard day, journey etc is one that makes you feel very tired because you have to work very hard , travel a long distance, or deal with a lot of problems: · Taking care of a two-year-old is hard work.· It was a long hard walk back to the nearest town.· When I come home from a hard day at work, I don't feel like talking to anyone.
► wearing a person, activity, or situation that is wearing is very tiring because it uses up a lot of your mental energy: · I find her constant questions and chatter rather wearing.· Kids of that age can be very wearing, can't they?
the feeling of being tired► tiredness · Tiredness and headaches are common signs of stress.· Camomile tea soothes the nerves and relieves tiredness.· A terrible tiredness had overcome her, leaving her no energy for extra activities.
► exhaustion the feeling of being very tired: · The soldiers were suffering from exhaustion after long days and nights of marching.· The signs of chronic exhaustion showed in Martha's face.from/with exhaustion: · One of the players collapsed with exhaustion and had to be carried off the field.
► drowsiness the feeling of wanting to sleep that you sometimes get when you are in a warm place or when you have drunk alcohol or taken medicine: · The drug can cause drowsiness.· Robert stopped fighting the drowsiness and sank back in the soft chair.
► fatigue a feeling of being very tired and weak - used especially in medical contexts: · Symptoms of the illness include fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite.· Driving in stressful conditions can lead to muscle fatigue.· She seemed depressed and was beginning to show signs of fatigue.
► lethargy formal extreme tiredness that makes you feel very lazy, so that you do not want to do anything and you are not interested in anything: · Another common symptom of a hangover is lethargy and muscular weakness.· It is not unusual for new mothers to go to the doctor complaining of tiredness, lethargy, and mild depression.
► jet-lag a feeling of tiredness and confusion which you sometimes get when you fly to a part of the world where the time is different from the place you have left: · I always get jet-lag when I fly from London to New York.
► burnout when you have worked so hard over a long period of time that you become too mentally and physically tired to continue: · Young boys recruited at an early age by soccer clubs often suffer from burnout before they're out of their teens.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► very
Word family· Long periods of continuous study are very tiring.· A very tiring job it was, particularly in winter, when you had a heavy overcoat on.· He found the Steel Wheels tour very tiring and doesn't want to continue.· Uphauling in stronger winds, as well as being extremely difficult, is very tiring and often frustrating.· The events had been very tiring and we were glad to find our beds that night.
WORD FAMILYadjectivetiredtirelesstiresometiringnountirednessverbtireadverbtirelessly
making you feel that you want to sleep or rest: We’ve all had a long tiring day.THESAURUStiring making you feel that you want to sleep or rest: · The journey was really tiring.· I’ve had such a tiring day.· It was tiring work.exhausting extremely tiring: · I had to drive nine hours without a break – it was exhausting.· an exhausting week of singing, acting, and dancinghard very tiring and difficult – used about days, journeys etc: · a hard day at work· The last part of the journey was very hard.wearing /ˈweərɪŋ $ ˈwer-/ tiring because you have to use a lot of your mental energy, and often become bored – used about people, situations etc: · I find her constant questions rather wearing.· Kids of that age can be very wearing.· His films always tend to have the same plots, which does get rather wearing after a while.gruelling British English, grueling American English (also punishing) very tiring physically or mentally – used when you have to keep doing something for a long time: · a gruelling journey across the desert· a gruelling race· a punishing schedule· a punishing exercise regimebackbreaking backbreaking work is extremely tiring and needs a lot of physical effort: · Clearing the land was slow backbreaking work.· Laborers were paid $2 a day for backbreaking farm work.something is a killer informal used when saying that something is extremely tiring: · Today was a real killer.fatiguing formal making you feel very tired: · Factory work was repetitive and fatiguing.