forspent
Definition
Adjective (archaic): - Exhausted or worn out: "forspent" describes a state of being completely fatigued, drained of energy, or utterly tired.
Usage Examples
- (Completely exhausted from travel.)
- (Worn out from combat.)
- (Utterly fatigued from continuous effort.)
Advanced Usage
"to be forspent with labour": to be exhausted from hard work.
- The farmer was forspent with labour after harvesting the entire field alone. (Completely tired from physical work.)
"forspent by sorrow": to be emotionally drained by grief.
- He was forspent by sorrow after the loss of his dearest friend. (Exhausted from emotional pain.)
Variants and Related Words
Forspentness (n): the quality or state of being forspent; extreme fatigue.
- The forspentness of the hikers was evident in their slow steps. (Their exhaustion was clear.)
Unforspent (adj): not exhausted; still having energy.
- Despite the long walk, he remained unforspent and cheerful. (Not tired.)
Synonyms
- Wearied: made tired; fatigued.
- Spent: completely used up, especially of energy.
- Prostrate: lying flat, especially from exhaustion.
Related Idioms
"dead tired": extremely exhausted (synonymous in meaning).
- She was dead tired after the marathon, just like one forspent. (Completely worn out.)
"run down": in a state of physical exhaustion (similar to forspent).
- He felt run down after weeks of overtime, as forspent as a labourer. (Exhausted from overwork.)
Note on Usage
This word is archaic and rarely used in modern English. It appears in older literature (e.g., Shakespeare, 16th–19th century texts). Modern equivalents include "exhausted," "drained," or "worn out."