noun
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a state of unconsciousness
-
mental dullness; torpor
Other Word Forms
- stuporous adjective
Etymology
Origin of stupor
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin: “astonishment, insensibility,” equivalent to stup(ēre) “to be numb, to be stunned” + -or -or 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
How much can a film criticize big tech’s spell over children when the long-running “Toy Story” franchise is similarly designed to lure its audience into a stupor, and for increasingly diminishing returns.
From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026
At the camp, Ibrahim said, adults and children alike often wander around in a sort of stupor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025
At home, it’s Alice Coltrane’s laughter that could break this spell or stupor or almost hagiography.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2025
Her own spiky guitar riff leads her out of her stupor, like an energetic dog barking its depressed owner out of bed.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024
A fever of activity commenced that shook Tres Marias from its stupor.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
