bleary

adjective

ˈblir-ē How to pronounce bleary (audio)
Synonyms of blearynext
1
of the eyes or vision : dull or dimmed especially from fatigue or sleep
2
: poorly outlined or defined : dim
a bleary view
3
: very tired
bleary travelers
blearily
ˈblir-ə-lē How to pronounce bleary (audio)
adverb
bleariness
ˈblir-ē-nəs How to pronounce bleary (audio)
noun

Synonyms of bleary

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of bleary in a Sentence

She looked at me with bleary eyes. disoriented, bleary passengers departing from the red-eye
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
She was clad in a sweatshirt and bleary from the early hour. — Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica, 23 Mar. 2026 Half an hour before showtime, a bus pulled up and out straggled the bleary-looking Arkestra. — Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026 He was surrounded by his boys from Alabama, trading cracks with a bleary grin. — Nick Stern, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025 There’s always been a conspiratorial smokiness in their singing, a crackle of long nights and bleary mornings penetrating their drawl. — Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for bleary

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bleary was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing bleary

Rhymes for bleary

See All Rhymes for bleary

Browse Nearby Words

blear-witted
bleary
bleary-eyed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bleary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bleary. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Medical Definition

bleary

adjective
ˈbli(ə)r-ē How to pronounce bleary (audio)
of the eyes or vision
: dull or dimmed especially from fatigue or sleep

More from Merriam-Webster on bleary

Nglish: Translation of bleary for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All