Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

drowse

/ˈdɹaʊ̯z/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.34 in modern English

Syllables
drowse
IPA
/ˈdɹaʊ̯z/
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make (someone or something) heavy with drowsiness or sleepiness.

Transitive verb

verb

Followed by away: to pass (time) drowsily or in sleeping; also, to proceed (on a way) drowsily or sleepily.

Transitive verb

verb

To make (someone or something) dull or inactive, as if from sleepiness.

Transitive verb

verb

Often followed by away or off: to be drowsy or sleepy; to be half-asleep.

Intransitive verb

verb

To be dull or inactive, as if from sleepiness.

Intransitive verb

noun

An act, or a state, of being drowsy or sleepy.

noun

A state of dullness or inactivity, as if from sleepiness.

Example Sentences

Etymology

The verb is either: * a back-formation from drowsy, which is attested earlier; or * possibly from Middle English *drousen (no known attestations), from Old English drūsan, drūsian (“to droop, sink; to become feeble, inactive, low, or slow, drowse”), from Proto-Germanic *drūsijaną (“to look down; mourn”) (possibly merged with *dreusaną (“to fall”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewHs- (“to break off; to fall down”). The noun is derived from the verb. cognates * Danish drøse (“to be negligent; to slow down”) * Dutch drozen (“to doze; muse”) * German trauern (“to mourn, be sad”) * Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐌰𐌽 (driusan, “to fall; to fall down”) * Norwegian døse (“to drowse”) * Old English drēosan (“to fall; to perish; to rush”) (whence Middle English dresen (“to fall down”)) * Swedish drösa (“to be slow”)

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *dʰrewHs-, *drousen, drūsan, *drūsijaną

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈdɹaʊ̯z/
  • British English: /ˈdɹaʊ̯z/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce drowse?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɹaʊ̯z/.
What does drowse mean?
To make (someone or something) heavy with drowsiness or sleepiness.
Where does drowse come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce drowse

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “drowse”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɹaʊ̯z/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “drowse”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “drowse” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.