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Glite Dictionary
to wear upon

to wear upon

1 7.0
Make someone tired over time from too much work or stress
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɛr əˈpɒn/
: agotar
  • The long hours of work began to wear upon her energy, making her feel exhausted.

Examples

  • The stress of the upcoming exams began to wear upon the students, leading to increased anxiety.

  • Constantly caring for her sick parents started to wear upon his mental health.

  • Who would dare induce wear upon the greatest of human technology only to speak to someone of a lesser species?

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

to wear
vsto wear upon
177 4.6

Make someone tired over time because of stress or effort

is the same meaning expressed in a common verb form
to wear out
vsto wear upon
65 2.7

To make a person very tired or a thing stop working by using it too much

focuses on causing exhaustion by overuse rather than only breaking function
to wear down
vsto wear upon
62 4.1

Slowly make a person or thing weaker by repeated pressure

is about causing tiredness by strain, not only gradual weakening
to tire
vsto wear upon
38 1.0

To become very tired or make someone very tired

covers the same exhaustion but highlights cause by strain or stress
to tire out
vsto wear upon
24 2.1

To make a person very tired by using up their energy

is the general phrase for causing tiredness from overuse or strain
to exhaust
vsto wear upon
21 3.2

To make someone very tired

usually implies total removal of energy rather than milder tiredness
to weary
vsto wear upon
4 4.4

To make someone or yourself very tired after long effort

describes causing tiredness generally rather than only the resulting state
to fatigue
vsto wear upon
4 4.6

To make someone very tired by hard work or long effort

is the broader act of causing exhaustion across contexts
to wear thin
vsto wear upon
2 5.6

Become thin or damaged from use, like a carpet

focuses on causing tiredness rather than the process of losing effectiveness
to fag out
vsto wear upon
  • UK
1 9.7

To become very tired after hard work or stress

describes causing tiredness in general, not necessarily extreme exhaustion
to fag
vsto wear upon
  • UK
1 9.9

To work very hard until you feel tired

emphasizes causing tiredness through effort rather than simple overuse
to jade
vsto wear upon
1 8.1

To make someone tired or bored by doing something too often

causes tiredness by strain rather than boredom or loss of interest
to outwear
vsto wear upon
1 8.3

To make someone very tired by long, hard effort

focuses on causing tiredness by sustained effort rather than a single act
to overweary
vsto wear upon
  • Archaic
9.5

To make someone very tired by doing too much without rest

means causing tiredness too but with less emphasis on excess

Antonyms

to refresh
43 2.8

Make someone or something feel full of energy and less tired

to rejuvenate
35 5.5

Make a person or thing look and feel younger

How Tiring

to exhaust
21 3.2
to wear out
65 2.7
to wear upon
1 7.0
strain
53 4.3

Surface Forms

wear upon infinitive
wearing upon present participle
wears upon third person singular
wore upon past
worn upon past participle

Morphology

wear + upon

The sense 'to cause someone to become exhausted' is directly built from 'wear' (to tire or exhaust) plus the preposition 'upon' (on/over/through), so the overall meaning is compositional: someone or something wears upon a person, i.e. tires them over time. This follows common English patterns (cf. wear on, wear down) and is therefore likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Wear upon may come from the image of a cloth rubbed again and again until it becomes thin. That slow rubbing is like constant pressure that slowly 'wears upon' a person, making them 'tired' or 'worn out'.