comatose
Americanadjective
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affected with or characterized by coma.
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lacking alertness or energy; torpid.
comatose from lack of sleep.
adjective
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in a state of coma
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torpid; lethargic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of comatose
Explanation
Being comatose is being in a coma, unconscious and unable to communicate, often for long periods of time. A bad illness or unexpected accident or injury — especially to the head — can make you comatose and trapped inside a body that isn't working. Comatose comes from the Greek kōma, "deep sleep." When you're in a deep sleep, your body is still and you don't respond to things around you. Being comatose means being in that sleepy, unresponsive state and not being able to get out of it. A much less serious use of this adjective is as a description for getting really tired while doing or watching something, like when you feel comatose after a chemistry lecture — assuming chemistry's not your thing.
Vocabulary lists containing comatose
Game Changer
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Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Matilda
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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.
As disturbing is what becomes of the narrator himself, who seems nearly comatose as he wanders the streets of Jerusalem in an endless search for the still-missing Gavriel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
BERLIN—Germany unveiled a broad economic overhaul on Thursday in an attempt to jolt its comatose economy back to life and boost the government’s approval ratings ahead of elections in the fall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The good collides with the bad at such an intense pace that the resulting impact leaves the film comatose.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026
They were still married and he was covered by her health insurance, which he needed as he rehabbed from the 12 strokes and six heart attacks he had while comatose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Temp and Tick seemed almost comatose from fear.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
