These words all pertain to a lessening or deletion of strength, energy or spirit. Tired is a general word and in itself indicates no specific degree of loss of vigour: tired from mowing the lawn; eyes tired from reading in a poor light; tired after swimming a 100-metre race. Weary is sometimes used interchangeably with tired to refer to a general lull in physical energy: weary from a long, hard day¡¯s work. Weary more strongly suggests discontent and vexation arising from having put up too long with something that is, or has become, disagreeable and trying: weary of getting up every hour to soothe a cranky baby; weary of arguing with his boss; weary of seeing the same inane television shows every night. Tired also may be used in this sense: sick and tired of the same old, deadly routine.

Fatigued implies a painful reduction of strength, as by nervous strain, illness or overwork. It is more precise than tired or weary : After his harrowing experience of being trapped in the mine, he became easily fatigued . As a symptom of a low state of health, fatigued is preferred to the other words: getting up in the morning as fatigued as he had been the night before. In the sense of bored or weary , fatigued may function in a more formal and literary way: Mozart¡¯s music gave him a sense of elation, while he was fatigued by Brahm¡¯s brooding lyricism.

Exhausted implies the utter draining of strength and energy, which may be restored by long rest or may be irreversible: too exhausted to eat his dinner; exhausted by the hustle and bustle of city life; on his 90th birthday, exhausted and dying of old age. Beat and pooped are informal terms for exhausted, but are loosely used and carry no precise meaning. One can say ¡°I¡¯m beat ¡± or I¡¯m pooped ,¡± whether genuinely exhausted or simply tired of a particular job. In referring to genuine but temporary physical exhaustion, beat is probably the stronger of the two.

Worn out carries over to this context some of its more usual meaning of having been used to the point where value or effectiveness has been lost. Here it is informal and may cover the range of meanings from tired to exhausted : worn out from years of toiling on a rocky, unproductive farm. Generally, the word is loosely applied to any state of lagging energy or patience: worn out from playing nine holes of golf; worn out from listening to the constant quarrelling in the flat next door.