wakeful

/ˈweɪkfəl/

Other forms: wakefully

Are you alert and restless at 4 am? Then you can say you're wakeful, or not able to sleep at all. You might as well get up and start your day.

If you're wide awake, especially when you should be asleep, you're wakeful. A wakeful baby can be perfectly pleasant in the middle of the day but is a lot less fun after midnight. Many new parents spend weeks or months of wakeful nights, and even getting a new puppy can lead to a long, wakeful period of your life. Before it meant simply "marked by being awake," this adjective meant "diligent."

Definitions of wakeful

1. adjective

   marked by full consciousness or alertness
   synonyms: waking

   awake

   not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
2. adjective

   carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger
   synonyms: argus-eyed, open-eyed, vigilant

   alert, watchful

   engaged in or accustomed to close observation
3. adjective

   (of sleep) easily disturbed
   “a restless wakeful night”

   synonyms: light

   shallow

   not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply