restless

English

Etymology

From Middle English restles, restelees, from Old English ræstlēas, equivalent to rest +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

enPR: rĕstʹlĭs, IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛstlɪs/
Audio (US): (file)
(weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛstləs/
Hyphenation: rest‧less

Adjective

restless (comparative more restless, superlative most restless)

Not allowing or affording rest.
The night before his wedding was a restless one.
Without rest; unable to be still or quiet; uneasy; continually moving.
Synonym: antsy

He was a restless child.

She sat, restless and nervous, and tried to concentrate.
Not satisfied to be at rest or in peace; averse to repose; eager for change; discontented.
A restless ambition.
Deprived of rest or sleep.
They remained restless, sitting by the window the entire night.

Derived terms

Translations

not allowing or affording rest

Bulgarian: неспокоен (bg) (nespokoen)
Catalan: intranquil (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 不眠的 (bù mián de)
Danish: hvileløs, urolig
Finnish: levoton (fi), uneton (fi)
French: inquiet (fr)
German: unruhig (de)
Hungarian: nyugtalan (hu)
Italian: instancabile (it)
Maori: whakariuka, tūrama, tūramarama
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hvileløs, urolig (no)
Polish: bez odpoczynku
Portuguese: desassossegado (pt)
Russian: беспоко́йный (ru) (bespokójnyj), трево́жный (ru) (trevóžnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: mì-shuaimhneach

unable to be still or quiet

Bulgarian: който не може да си намери място (kojto ne može da si nameri mjasto)
Catalan: inquiet (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 坐不住的 (zuòbuzhù de), 浮躁 (zh) (fúzào)
Czech: neklidný
Danish: rastløs, urolig
Dutch: rusteloos (nl)
Esperanto: malkvieta
Finnish: levoton (fi)
German: unruhig (de)
Greek: ανήσυχος (el) (anísychos)
Hebrew: חֲסַר מָנוֹחַ m (ẖasár manóaẖ)
Ingrian: raisu
Irish: luaineach, aistreach
Italian: irrequieto (it)
Latin: inquiēs
Maori: kanae (of the eyes), toropuku (of sleep), titoro (of sleep), tāwheta, ārewa, tiu, tourepa
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rastløs (no), urolig (no)

Nynorsk: rastlaus
Persian: بی‌قرار (fa) (bi-qarâr)
Polish: niespokojny (pl)
Portuguese: inquieto (pt)
Romanian: neliniștit (ro), agitat (ro)
Russian: беспоко́йный (ru) (bespokójnyj), неугомо́нный (ru) (neugomónnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: siùbhlach, an-fhoiseil
Spanish: inquieto (es)
Ukrainian: неспокі́йний (nespokíjnyj)

not satisfied to be at rest or peace

Bulgarian: нетърпелив (bg) (netǎrpeliv)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 坐不住的 (zuòbuzhù de), 不安於現狀的／不安于现状的 (bù ānyúxiànzhuàng de)
Finnish: levoton (fi)
German: ruhelos, rastlos (de)
Hungarian: nyughatatlan (hu)
Ingrian: raisu
Latin: implacidus
Maori: taoi
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rastløs (no)
Polish: niezaspokojony
Portuguese: incansável (pt)
Scottish Gaelic: siùbhlach, an-fhoiseil

deprived of rest or sleep

Catalan: desvetllat
Chinese:
Mandarin: 難以入睡的／难以入睡的 (zuòbuzhù de), 不安于现状的 (nányǐ rùshuì de)
Danish: hvileløs
Finnish: levoton (fi)
Ingrian: raisu
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hvileløs
Plautdietsch: schloplooss
Polish: bez odpoczynku

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} roerig (nl)
Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} maltrankvila
French: ^{(please verify)} agité (fr), ^{(please verify)} impatient (fr)
German: ^{(please verify)} ruhelos, ^{(please verify)} unruhig (de)
Irish: ^{(please verify)} luaileach

References

“restless”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
“restless”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

Tesslers, tressels