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sleepwalker

sleepwalker

11 3.5
A person who walks while not awake and does not remember it
  • noun
  • /ˈsliːpˌwɔːkər/
translation icon : sonámbulo
  • I wandered around like a sleepwalker.
  • wake the sleepwalker
  • watch a sleepwalker
  • move like a sleepwalker

Examples

  • I rode along like a sleepwalker traveling through fog.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • It's not her fault Emma's a sleepwalker.

  • I had an aunt who was a sleepwalker.

  • It's about this insane old doctor who has a sleepwalker completely under his spell.

  • Luke advanced toward Dan in the manner of a sleepwalker.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • She's been like a sleepwalker all week.

  • The sleepwalker keeps murdering people, but only because the evil guy has him under a spell.

  • He acted like a sleepwalker.

  • Terror and exhaustion had left him numb, and he followed Jacob like a sleepwalker.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • My brother is a sleepwalker; he often wanders around the house at night without remembering it in the morning.

Synonyms

somnambulist
vssleepwalker
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A person who walks while asleep

typically does not remember the walking that happens during sleep
noctambulist
vssleepwalker
  • Specialized
9.9

A person who walks while asleep

typically does not remember the walking that happens during sleep

Surface Forms

sleepwalker singular
sleepwalkers plural

Morphology

sleepwalker = sleepwalk (transparent) = sleep + walk + er

Built from the verb 'sleepwalk' (sleep + walk) with the agentive '-er' meaning 'one who sleepwalks'; the structure and meaning are straightforward.

Etymology

The word sleepwalker is a simple combination of sleep ('rest') and walk ('move on your feet'), so it literally means 'a person who walks while still asleep', often without remembering it afterwards.