Bushed

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /bʊʃt/

Definitions

1. Extremely tired or fatigued after physical or mental effort ; covered or surrounded by dense shrubbery or small trees
2. Feeling drained of energy and in need of rest ; overgrown with thick bushes or undergrowth
3. In a state of weariness from exertion ; characterized by an area filled with bushes or wild plants

Etymology: Bushed has a surprisingly tangled connection to the idea of wilderness. The adjective is simply "bush" plus the "-ed" ending, so it describes something that has been bushed, either covered in shrubs or, in the sense of exhaustion, worn down the way a traveller would be after struggling through thick scrub. The tiredness sense is the more striking of the two, because it has nothing to do with plants on the surface at all: it names the weariness of pushing through dense growth that tears at clothes and slows every step. The base word, "bush," is the noun for a low, many-stemmed woody plant, and in English it has long been used for uncultivated country as well, as in the "bush" of Australia and southern Africa. Adding "-ed" turns the noun into an adjective meaning "covered with or surrounded by bushes," which is the original sense. The extended meaning of exhaustion grew from that picture of a person hemmed in and worn out by the undergrowth.

Synonyms: exhausted, fatigued, tired, weary, spent

Antonyms: refreshed, energetic, invigorated, active, lively