Meanings
plural burnouts · alternative burn-out
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, especially in one's career.
High on the list of proposals educators said they support to combat burnout – after raising salaries and hiring more teachers — was providing additional mental health and behavioral support for students, according to the 2022 NEA survey.
2023 May 31, Annette Choi, “Teachers are calling it quits amid rising school violence, burnout and stagnating salaries”, in CNN - countableuncountableA person who has the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest.
Ten years of this soul-sucking job would turn any ambitious young person into a burnout.
- countableuncountableA feeling of being overwhelmed and exhausted from stress and overwork, rendering one cynical, uncaring or depression.
- UScountableslanguncountableSomeone whose brains have figuratively been burned out by drugs.
There’s no way we can hire that guy. He’s a total burnout—he can't do the work.
1 more example
Then in his late 30s, he [Neal Cassady] was already a visibly ravaged shadow of Kerouac’s heroically defiant rebel and well on his way to becoming the kind of babbling burnout you don’t want to sit next to on any bus trip, magical or not.
2011 August 4, Stephen Holden, “Stoned Archive: Wild Ride Of the Merry Pranksters”, in The New York Times, →ISSN - countableuncountablespace flightaerospaceThe shutoff of a rocket motor after exhausting its fuel or having been irreversibly throttled after the application of a planned delta-v.
- countableuncountableThe failure of an electrical device, usually through overheating due to the application of excessive power.
- countableuncountableautomotiveUse of the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary, causing the spinning tires to produce smoke and burn rubber.
Origin
Deverbal from burn out.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 倦怠
- 倦怠 (juàndài)experience of long-term exhaustion
Czech vyhoření
- vyhořeníexperience of long-term exhaustion
Danish udbrændthed
- udbrændthedexperience of long-term exhaustion
Dutch burn-out
- burn-outexperience of long-term exhaustion
Finnish työuupumus, loppuunpalaminen
- työuupumusexperience of long-term exhaustion
- loppuunpalaminenexperience of long-term exhaustion
- burnoutexperience of long-term exhaustion
French burn, burn-out
- burnusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- burn-outexperience of long-term exhaustion
- surmenageexperience of long-term exhaustion
- syndrome d’épuisement professionnelexperience of long-term exhaustion
German Burn-out
- Burn-outusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
Hungarian kiégés
- kiégésexperience of long-term exhaustion
Italian burnout, esaurimento
- burnoutusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- esaurimentoexperience of long-term exhaustion
- esaurimento nervosoexperience of long-term exhaustion
Korean 번아웃
- 번아웃 (beonaut)experience of long-term exhaustion
Malay lesu upaya
- lesu upayaexperience of long-term exhaustion
Polish wypalenie
- wypalenieexperience of long-term exhaustion
Portuguese borrachão, esgotamento
- borrachãousing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- esgotamentoexperience of long-term exhaustion
Romanian surmenare emoțională
- surmenare emoționalăexperience of long-term exhaustion
Spanish queme, burnout
- quemeusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- burnoutusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- desgasteusing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- patinazousing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- patinadausing the throttle to spin the wheels of a vehicle being held stationary
- surmenageexperience of long-term exhaustion
- agotamientoexperience of long-term exhaustion
Swedish utbrändhet
- utbrändhetexperience of long-term exhaustion
Ukrainian емоці́йне вигоря́ння
- емоці́йне вигоря́ння (emocíjne vyhorjánnja)experience of long-term exhaustion
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
burnout. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burnout
“burnout.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burnout. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “burnout,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burnout.
Source: burnout on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.