Outwearying

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Exhausting to the point of weariness or fatigue, often resulting in a sense of depletion or extreme tiredness
2. Causing such intense fatigue that it surpasses usual limits of exhaustion
3. Characterizing an experience or task that leads one to feel overwhelmingly drained and incapable of continuing

Etymology: "Outwearying" is simply the present participle of "outweary," a verb formed from the prefix "out-" and the adjective "weary." The "out-" here carries the sense of surpassing or exceeding, so to outweary someone is to wear them down beyond their endurance, making the word a straightforward compound built from two familiar English elements. The base "weary" goes back to Old English "wērig," meaning exhausted or worn out, and the prefix "out-" was used productively in English to form verbs of excess, such as "outrun" or "outlast." Stacking the two gives a verb that describes tiring someone past the point of normal fatigue. The adjective form in the sense given here, describing something that causes that depletion, follows naturally from the verb.

Synonyms: exhausting, fatiguing, wearisome, tiring, draining

Antonyms: refreshing, invigorating, rejuvenating, stimulating, energizing