Alertness — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Alert (adjective)

Alert is a different word from Alertness. The synonyms below are for alert, not for alertness.

1. paying close attention usually for the purpose of anticipating approaching danger or opportunity

   "she needed to stay alert throughout the train ride so as not to miss her stop"

   similar: Argus-eyed, attentive, awake, observant, open-eyed, tenty (Scottish), vigilant, watchful, wide-awake, on guard, on one's toes, on the alert, on the ball, on the qui vive, on tiptoe
   related: alive, aware, conscious, sensitive, cognizant, heedful, keen, mindful, observing, regardful, sharp, sharp-eyed, hyperalert, hypervigilant, sleepless, wakeful, careful, cautious, chary, wary, prepared, ready
   opposite: asleep
   near: absent, absentminded, absorbed, abstracted, daydreaming, dazed, distracted, dreaming, dreamy, engrossed, faraway, insensible, oblivious, preoccupied, sleeping, unaware, unconscious, unknowing, unwitting, careless, heedless, inattentive, unheeding, unmindful, unthinking, unwary, unprepared, unready

2. having or showing a close attentiveness to avoiding danger or trouble

   "warned us to be alert to the presence of pickpockets on the crowded bus"

   similar: careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, conservative, considerate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, safe, wary
   related: advertent, attentive, awake, observant, regardful, vigilant, watchful, hypercautious, foresighted, foresightful, forethoughtful, provident, thoughtful, cagey, calculating, canny, shrewd, deliberate, slow, ultracareful, ultracautious
   opposite: careless, heedless, incautious, unguarded, unmindful, unsafe, unwary
   near: bold, brash, impetuous, rash, reckless, venturesome, asleep, inattentive, regardless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, lax, neglectful, negligent, remiss, imprudent, indiscreet, injudicious, absentminded, forgetful, inadvertent, unintentional, unplanned

3. having or showing quickness of mind

   "an alert and well-trained sheep dog who can handle difficult situations"

   similar: brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, exceptional, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
   related: apt, ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, heady, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, genial, highbrow, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, creative, inventive, judicious, prudent, sage, sane, sensible, sound, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, logical, rational, reasonable
   opposite: airheaded, birdbrained, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unbrilliant, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
   near: feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, half-baked, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, silly, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, nonintellectual, unacademic, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany

4. having or showing the ability to respond without delay or hesitation

   "an alert force of commandos, ready to go on a mission at a moment's notice"

   similar: alacritous, expeditious, prompt, quick, ready, willing
   related: receptive, responsive, immediate, instant, instantaneous, summary, breakneck, breathless, brisk, fast, fleet, fleet-footed, hit-and-run, lightning, rapid, rapid-fire, rattling, snappy, speedy, swift, whirlwind, eager, keen, sharp, apt, clever, quick-witted, ready-witted, sharp-witted, smart
   near: unresponsive, crawling, creeping, dallying, dawdling, dilatory, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, lagging, lazy, lazyish, leisurely, logy, poking, poky, slothful, slow, slowish, sluggish, tardy, unhurried, dormant, idle, inactive, inert