comatose
Americanadjective
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affected with or characterized by coma.
-
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.
John was described as being in a "comatose state" but just a day later he was back in the Northern Social Club getting out of his wheelchair and walking around.
From BBC • May 12, 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
Three first-responder nurses during the pandemic live in a hastily planned trailer park near the San Bernardino hospital where all day, every day they confront the comatose and the dying.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2025
"But in this particular bloom, we're seeing them really comatose and rather taken out by this toxin."
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2025
Then came that terrible day with the phone ringing endlessly, the police showing up at the door, Sierra’s parents hurrying their shoes on and rushing out to Brooklyn Hospital, where Lázaro lay comatose.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.
