suspended animation
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of suspended animation
First recorded in 1810–20
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.
‘The Matrix films were based on the idea that machine-addicted humans would put their bodies in suspended animation.’
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
This time of year invites us all, believers and atheists alike, to emerge from our own suspended animation or curled-up little balls, like cummings writes at the end of that poem:
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2025
They survive by entering a state of suspended animation called biostasis, using proteins that form gels inside of cells and slow down life processes, according to the new UW-led research.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2024
In a pose reminiscent of the fight scenes from “The Matrix” franchise, Björk appears in suspended animation, her back arched, head frozen above the faucet, arms dangling at her sides.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024
It allows you to exist in a state of suspended animation.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
