catatonic

[kat-uh-ton-ik]

adjective

1. having catatonia, a syndrome characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor.

   The schizophrenic remained in a catatonic state.

2. appearing to be in a daze or stupor; unresponsive.

   She had the catatonic expression of an avant-garde model.

noun

1. a person having or experiencing catatonia.

Other Word Forms

• catatonically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of catatonic¹

First recorded in 1905–10; cataton(ia) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )

Example Sentences

“The baby was gray in color, emaciated, and catatonic,” according to the statement from prosecutors.

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Season 3 finds him a broken man, near catatonic with guilt.

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My Hollywood ending was far from glamorous: me, catatonic on Nick’s couch, realizing I had given it all up for an honest-to-God psychopath.

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The brevity is, of course, a function of Joe Biden’s catatonic debate performance, ensuing Democratic panic and the president’s overnight replacement in the shank of summer by his vice presidential understudy, Kamala Harris.

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“Connection makes us feel safe. When we don’t, we engage in dysregulated behavior, like self-injury, which in extreme cases become catatonic.”

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