What does "sleepwalker" mean?
A somnambulist; one who walks, or is active, while asleep.
Sleepwalker
noun
noun ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A somnambulist; one who walks, or is active, while asleep.
- Grammar: sleepwalker is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: somnambulist, noctambulist, sleeper, sleepyhead.
- Useful contrasts: awake person, conscious person.
- Usage evidence: They say never wake up a sleepwalker.
How to use "sleepwalker"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sleepwalker" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sleepwalker" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sleepwalker" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sleepwalker" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sleepwalker" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "somnambulist" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sleepwalker", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A somnambulist; one who walks, or is active, while asleep.
"Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells."
- 2 someone who walks about in their sleep wordnet
- 3 One in a state of magnetic or mesmeric sleep; someone in a hypnotic trance. archaic
"Though the sleepwalker sat with closely bandaged and wadded eyes, and his back to the grimacing part of the company, he described everything they were doing with the most comic humour, and he asked, 'What in the world is that gentleman in the chair making such faces for, and what is he giving himself such trouble about? […]""
- 4 A person from whom a voodoo practitioner (a bocor) has taken over control of their mind, making them a zombie who must do the bocor's bidding.
"But don't zombies exist in real life— such as the Haitian zombies called “sleepwalkers" ?"
- 5 One who goes though life in a state of obliviousness. figuratively
"Perhaps he should have killed the white man, who, after all, is the dangerous one, the sleepwalker, the blind man . Getting rid of him would have protected " the higher interests of society " on three counts : It would have made this dreamer and sleepwalker "pay the price" for refusing to awaken to the truth of human identity; it would have destroyed the dreamer's "dream world," which excludes blacks; and it would have carried out the narrator's " responsibility," as "invisible victim," for " the fate of all"—for those both within and without the sleepwalker's dream world."
Antonyms
awake personconscious person
Example
"They say never wake up a sleepwalker."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sleepwalker"?
Common synonyms include: somnambulist, noctambulist, sleeper, sleepyhead.
How do you use "sleepwalker" in a sentence?
They say never wake up a sleepwalker.
Etymology
From sleep + walker or sleepwalk + -er.