torpid

¹

[ tawr-pid ]

adjective

1. inactive or sluggish.

   Antonyms: energetic

2. slow; dull; apathetic; lethargic.

   Synonyms: indolent

3. dormant, as a hibernating or estivating animal.

torpid

²

[ tawr-pid ]

noun

1. an eight-oared, clinker-built boat used for races at Oxford University during the Lenten term.

torpid

/ ˈtɔːpɪd /

adjective

1. apathetic, sluggish, or lethargic
2. (of a hibernating animal) dormant; having greatly reduced metabolic activity
3. unable to move or feel

Derived Forms

• ˈtorpidly, adverb
• torˈpidity, noun

Other Words From

• tor·pidi·ty torpid·ness noun
• torpid·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of torpid¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin torpidus “numb,” equivalent to torp(ēre) “to be stiff or numb” + -idus -id ⁴

Origin of torpid²

First recorded in 1830–40; special use of torpid ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of torpid¹

C17: from Latin torpidus, from torpēre to be numb, motionless

Synonym Study

See inactive.

Example Sentences

They were torpid, as you or I might be if we’d spent a long period locked-down and socially isolated.

From Washington Post

Cheng thinks modern ballots are “boring” and “graphically torpid.”

From Fortune

Torpid as Spain had become, there was still one point on which she was exquisitely sensitive.

From Project Gutenberg

I did not forget to mention the Companies, but find people, as I expected, torpid.

From Project Gutenberg

Its indolence, and anger at the stirring of inward strife by nature, caused it to assume a torpid indifference.

From Project Gutenberg

Professor Smawl ate heavily and retired to her tent to lie torpid until evening.

From Project Gutenberg

His torpid head fell back on the chair, and his outstretched hands hung lifeless, yellow, and rigid on his knees.

From Project Gutenberg