‘tired’ vs ‘tiring’

Look at the picture above. Do we say “The journey was tired” or “The journey was tiring”? Let’s find out.

Like bored/boring and interested/interesting, the -ed adjective describes a feeling, and the -ing adjective describes a situation, event, person or thing that causes you to have that feeling.

tired

Here are some examples of tired:

• After 10 hours in the office, Joe was feeling very tired.
• After running 5km, his legs were tired.
• A good massage will relax your tired muscles..

tiring

If something is tiring, it makes you feel tired. Here are some examples:

• It’s been a very tiring day.
• Looking after children can be extremely tiring.
• She can be a bit tiring at times.

Is it clear now? The journey in the picture above is tiring.