hebetude

[heb-i-tood, -tyood]

noun

1. the state of being dull; lethargy.

hebetude

/ ˈhɛbɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. rare,  mental dullness or lethargy

Other Word Forms

• hebetudinous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hebetude¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Late Latin hebetūdō “dullness, bluntness,” equivalent to Latin hebet- (stem of hebes ) “dull” + -ūdō; -tude

Word History and Origins

Origin of hebetude¹

C17: from Late Latin hebetūdō, from Latin hebes blunt

Example Sentences

The alternate delirium or coma and clearness of mind in meningitis contrast with the persistent hebetude, stupor, or muttering delirium and the muscular relaxation in typhoid fever.

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Such children, in their mental hebetude and physical degeneracy, suggest a degree of cretinism.

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Benumbed, exhausted, sunk in hebetude, she waited until she could wait no more, until intolerable suspense drove her blindly.

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We are on the eve of a Jubilee Year, when the halcyon shall plume his wing, and we shall hear much oratorical trash and hebetude about the peacefulness of this happy reign.

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This hebetude of all faculty was the merciful, protecting method that Nature took with her, dimming the lamp of consciousness until the wounded creature could gain sufficient resiliency to bear a full realization of life.

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