lassitude

American  

[las-i-tood, -tyood] / ˈlæs ɪˌtud, -ˌtyud /

noun

1. weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness; languor.

   It was yet another day of extreme heat and lassitude.

2. a condition of lazy indifference.

   Democracy is hard work, and demands that citizens not drift into lassitude.

---

lassitude British  

/ ˈlæsɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. physical or mental weariness

---

Etymology

Origin of lassitude

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin lassitūdō “weariness,” equivalent to lass(us) “weary” + -i- connecting vowel + -tūdō noun suffix; see -i-, -tude

Explanation

If you are feeling lassitude, you're weary and just can't be bothered. Couch potatoes make lassitude into an art form. Lassitude might sound like latitude, but the two words don't mean the same thing. Latitude describes the distance of a particular location from the equator. Lassitude is the weariness you'd experience after attempting to run a marathon around the equator. Lassitude can also describe a lack of interest, like deciding you'd rather lie on your couch than run that marathon along the equator.

Example Sentences

And it carried an implicit warning: If America ever ceases to be as Hilda—godly, uncompromising, moral, dutiful and good—the moss-covered lassitude of Hawthorne’s Rome awaits us too.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

His tone, however, belied the lassitude of a man who increasingly struggles to hide his age behind all that makeup.

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025

There were moments during my screening at which I thought I was attending an exorcism; the movie makes you feel thrown by the power of cinema to shake us out of our lassitude.

From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2024

Overcome by a sudden, inexplicable lassitude, Ribeiro did little but attend classes, read and sleep.

From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2021

It was not a physical fatigue—he went to the gym regularly and felt better than he had in years—but a draining lassitude that numbed the margins of his mind.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie