torpor

[tawr-per]

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noun

sluggish inactivity or inertia.
lethargic indifference; apathy.
a state of suspended physical powers and activities.

dormancy, as of a hibernating animal.

Origin of torpor

1600–10; < Latin: numbness, equivalent to torp(ēre) to be stiff or numb + -or -or¹

Synonyms for torpor

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2. stolidity, listlessness, lethargy. 4. sleepiness, slumber, drowsiness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for torpor

torpidity, sloth, laziness, languor, dormancy, disinterest, idleness, impassivity, dullness, inaction, passiveness, listlessness, inactivity, stupor, slumber, apathy, slowness, drowsiness

Examples from the Web for torpor

Contemporary Examples of torpor

These are times of torpor in Paris, politically as well as economically.
The Gunslinger of Rue Miromesnil
Christopher Dickey
December 23, 2013
But it was first and foremost an attempt to wake up America from the torpor of the daily grind under its meritocratic overlords.
Miley Cyrus's Smartest Tattoo
James Poulos
September 28, 2013

Historical Examples of torpor

In my state of torpor I was not, however, long left in peace.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
I did not want to move again, and the torpor seemed to me thoroughly delicious.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
In India you will easily believe that the torpor is still unbroken.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume I
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Suddenly, amid her torpor, she sprang out of bed and ran into the studio.
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola
He only issued from his torpor at night to fall into blind and puerile fits of anger.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for torpor

torpor

noun

a state of torpidity

Derived Formstorporific, adjective

Word Origin for torpor

C17: from Latin: inactivity, from torpēre to be motionless

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for torpor

c.1600, from Latin torpor "numbness," from torpere "be numb," from PIE root *ster- "stiff" (cf. Old Church Slavonic trupeti, Lithuanian tirpstu "to become rigid;" Greek stereos "solid;" Old English steorfan "to die;" see sterile).

torpor in Medicine

torpor

[tôr′pər]

A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility.
Lethargy; apathy.

Related formstor′po•rif′ic (-pə-rĭf′ĭk) adj.