as in boredom
physical or mental inertness
faced with a class forever enveloped in a miasma of apathy and intellectual hebetude, the professor had little hope of kindling an interest in medieval European history
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Recent Examples of hebetude
The leaden weight of an irremediable idleness descended upon General Feraud, who having no resources within himself sank into a state of awe-inspiring hebetude.
—
Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017
Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hebetude
Noun
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She’s never been interested in a career, because her nature is such that the boredom of a job would kill her.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Feb. 2025
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Amid all the boredom and silliness that came with the league’s new All-Star format that (mostly) flopped, this was the most entertaining part of the entire program.—
Sam Amick,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Symptoms also include lethargy, dehydration and vomiting, and the animals can die.—
Erika I. Ritchie,
Orange County Register,
28 Feb. 2025
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Symptoms in cats include fever, low appetite, lethargy, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from eyes and nose, and difficulty breathing.—
Vanessa Etienne,
People.com,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Slim, chiselled Tom wakes from his stupor, newly determined to prove his haters wrong.—
Vinson Cunningham,
The New Yorker,
25 Jan. 2025
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Symptoms of severe illness include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, stupor, tremors, seizures, paralysis, or coma.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American-Statesman,
4 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Hebetude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hebetude. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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