Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to somnambulate

to somnambulate

9.9
To walk while asleep
  • verb
  • /sɑːmˈnæmbjʊˌleɪt/
translation icon : sonámbular
  • She often somnambulates after a long day.

Examples

  • Some people somnambulate several times a week without ever remembering their night-time journeys.

  • The doctor explained that children are more likely to somnambulate during periods of stress.

  • Last night, she was found to somnambulate out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.

  • He somnambulates through the house at night.

  • While sleepwalking, she often somnambulates around the house, making her family anxious.

  • He somnambulated through the dark hallway, completely unaware of his surroundings.

  • After the medication kicked in, he would somnambulate into the kitchen at night without realizing.

Synonyms

to sleepwalk
vsto somnambulate
39 4.2

To walk while not fully awake and not remember it

is the general term focusing on the action rather than memory or awareness

Surface Forms

somnambulate infinitive
somnambulated past
somnambulated past participle
somnambulating present participle
somnambulates third person singular

Morphology

somnambulate = ambulate (semi-transparent) = somn + ambulate

The verb is transparently 'somn-' (sleep) + 'ambulate' (walk) in meaning, but 'somn-' is a Latin combining form unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Somnambulate comes from the Latin words somn- 'sleep' and ambulare 'to walk'. So, to somnambulate is to 'walk in your sleep', and you can remember the walking part by thinking of amble 'to walk slowly'.