Learn English – Sleepy tired vs physically tired

british-englishsingle-word-requests

I'm trying to figure out if there is a better way to distinguish between being sleepy-tired, and being physically tired.

  • Scenario A: You didn't get much sleep last night. It's only 10am so you've not done much today, but you keep nodding off. You are tired
  • Scenario B: You've mowed the lawn, done a lot of heavy lifting, walked a lot, and now your muscles ache, you want to sit down. It's only lunchtime. You are physically tired, but wide awake. You are tired

I'm specifically asking about scenario B as you could use sleepy for Scenario A, which wouldn't get mixed up with physical tiredness.

I've looked at some synonyms such as exhausted and fatigued but I think these could also suggest some form of sleepiness.

I'm trying to find a one word or short way of saying "I'm tired, but not in the sleepy sense of the word" (*I'm physically tired, not sleepy tired)

I'm not asking for a way to say "It's bedtime, and although physically tired I'm still not sleepy"

The conversation scenario I'm trying to avoid:

A: sits down on the sofa, 8pm. "Boy, am I tired"

B: "well that's because you didn't have much sleep last night"

A: "No, I mean I'm physically tired, I'm actually not sleepy at all"

Is there a word A could initially use to avoid the sleep branch of the conversation? Does A have to resort to saying "Boy, I'm physically tired, but wide awake"?

Here's maybe a better way of what I'm driving at.

You didn't get much sleep during the night. You go to a long gym session at 9am and do more than you usually might, resulting in your muscles having a thorough workout. You have a coffee at 11am and then go home to your partner (who knows you didn't get much sleep) and flump on the sofa:

  • You are physically tired (you just want to sit down as your muscles are tired)
  • You've recovered from your immediate exertion (so you're not out of breath)
  • You are mentally awake (You're ready to sit down and do the crossword)
  • You don't feel sleepy at all (You could go to bed, but you wouldn't sleep. Why would you, it's the middle of the day and you've only just got up – you are not restless)

You want a short way to say "Phew, I'm tired!" but in a way that cannot be construed as being mentally tired or feeling the need for sleep. (and without having to qualify it with a longer sentence).

Best Answer

I think participles might help give the sense that something (e.g. physical exertion) has “worn you out” beyond the normal process of becoming sleepy. For example, wearied (as opposed to simply weary).

I think some colloquial constructions that use a passive form might also help give the sense of what you want, like these:

  • done-in: worn out; exhausted; used up
  • drained: to be deprived of strength
  • sapped: to drain the [every; vitality] from
  • spent: used up; consumed
  • beat: exhausted; worn out