Groggy means feeling dazed, sleepy, and slightly confused, like your brain hasn't quite woken up yet. When your alarm clock goes off at 6 AM and you stumble to the bathroom, bumping into the doorframe, you're groggy. Your thoughts move slowly, your reactions are sluggish, and you might not even remember the first few minutes after waking.

People feel groggy in different situations. You might wake up groggy after sleeping too long on a Saturday morning, or feel groggy after being sick with a fever. Sometimes a blow to the head in sports leaves an athlete groggy and unsteady. Medicine can make you groggy too: after dental surgery, patients often feel groggy from the anesthesia for an hour or two.

The feeling usually passes once you splash cold water on your face, get moving, or give your body time to recover. When someone seems groggy, they might speak slowly, have trouble focusing their eyes, or need a moment to understand simple questions. It's that foggy, half-awake state where your body is up but your mind is still catching up.