torpor
Americannoun
-
sluggish inactivity or inertia.
-
lethargic indifference; apathy.
- Synonyms:
- lethargy, listlessness, stolidity
-
a state of suspended physical powers and activities.
-
dormancy, as of a hibernating animal.
- Synonyms:
- drowsiness, slumber, sleepiness
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of torpor
1600–10; < Latin: numbness, equivalent to torp ( ēre ) to be stiff or numb + -or -or 1
Explanation
Torpor is a state of mental and physical inactivity. "After a huge Thanksgiving meal, my family members fall into a torpor; no one can even pick up the TV remote." Torpor can be used in everyday speech, but it's also a scientific term for a state of deep sleep that allows animals to conserve energy. Certain species of bats, birds, and frogs rely on torpor for survival during tough times. While humans don't technically belong to this group of animals, they certainly appear to, especially after a large meal and on most Monday mornings.
Vocabulary lists containing torpor
Grade 12, List 2
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"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Unbroken
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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.
Torpor induction in humans also holds the futuristic potential to support suspended animation for journeys across vast stretches of lonely space.
From Scientific American • Jun. 5, 2023
Torpor is a process that leads to a decrease in activity and metabolism and allows animals to survive adverse conditions.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
Torpor causes green iguanas to lose muscle control, and since they live in trees, they fall out of trees.
From Salon • Jan. 25, 2020
As fresh today as it was when it first came out, Torpor joins Twitter personalities like Nein Quarterly and So Sad Today to resist the cult of relentless positivity, cultivating a much-needed counter-aesthetics of despair.
From Slate • Feb. 6, 2015
Torpor, I will bestow upon thee all the endearing names, that common mortals give to rapture!
From Italian Letters, Vols. I and II The History of the Count de St. Julian by Godwin, William
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.
