fatigue
/fə'ti:g/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- Extreme tiredness or exhaustion: A state of physical or mental weariness resulting from prolonged exertion, stress, or illness.
- Weakening of a material: The process of a material (especially metal) becoming weaker and likely to fail after repeated stress or strain.
- (Military) Menial labor: Non-combat tasks assigned to soldiers, such as cleaning or maintenance.
- (With a modifier) Boredom or reduced tolerance: A feeling of weariness or diminished interest caused by excessive exposure to something.
Verb:
- To tire out: To cause someone or something to become extremely tired or exhausted.
- To become tired: To grow weary or exhausted.
Examples of Usage
Noun:
- She was suffering from extreme fatigue after working three consecutive night shifts.
- Engineers must test for metal fatigue in the aircraft's wings.
- The recruits were assigned kitchen fatigue for the week.
- Many voters are showing signs of political fatigue.
Verb:
- The long journey fatigued the travelers.
- The repetitive motion fatigued the muscles in his arm.
Advanced Usage
"Compassion fatigue": Reduced capacity for empathy due to overexposure to distressing news or appeals.
- Constant news coverage of the crisis led to widespread compassion fatigue.
"Decision fatigue": The deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making.
- After hours of shopping, she suffered from decision fatigue and couldn't choose a cereal.
"To fatigue of (something/someone)": To become weary or bored with something.
- He had begun to fatigue of the constant meetings.
Variants and Related Words
Fatigues (plural noun): A military uniform for non-combat duties or labor.
- The soldiers changed into their fatigues for the cleaning detail.
Fatigued (adjective): In a state of tiredness.
- The fatigued hikers stopped to rest.
Fatiguing (adjective): Causing fatigue.
- It was a long and fatiguing climb.
Synonyms
- Noun: Exhaustion, weariness, tiredness, lethargy.
- Verb: Tire, exhaust, weary, drain.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- "To fatigue someone out": To completely exhaust someone. (Note: "wear out" is more common).
- The intense workout fatigued him out.
Related Idioms
- "Battle fatigue": A state of extreme exhaustion and stress caused by prolonged engagement in difficult circumstances, originally from combat. Now used more broadly.
- After months of negotiations, the diplomats showed signs of battle fatigue.
Noun
- labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on)
- the soldiers were put on fatigue to teach them a lesson
- they were assigned to kitchen fatigues
- (always used with a modifier) boredom resulting from overexposure to something
- he was suffering from museum fatigue
- after watching TV with her husband she had a bad case of football fatigue
- the American public is experiencing scandal fatigue
- political fatigue
- used of materials (especially metals) in a weakened state caused by long stress
- metal fatigue
- temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
- he was hospitalized for extreme fatigue
- growing fatigue was apparent from the decline in the execution of their athletic skills
- weariness overcame her after twelve hours and she fell asleep
Verb
- exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
- We wore ourselves out on this hike
- lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
- I'm so tired of your mother and her complaints about my food