Synonym Chooser

How does the noun torpor contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of torpor are languor, lassitude, lethargy, and stupor. While all these words mean "physical or mental inertness," torpor implies a state of suspended animation as of hibernating animals but may suggest merely extreme sluggishness.

a once alert mind now in a torpor

In what contexts can languor take the place of torpor?

The words languor and torpor are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, languor suggests inertia induced by an enervating climate or illness or love.

languor induced by a tropical vacation

When can lassitude be used instead of torpor?

While in some cases nearly identical to torpor, lassitude stresses listlessness or indifference resulting from fatigue or poor health.

a depression marked by lassitude

When would lethargy be a good substitute for torpor?

In some situations, the words lethargy and torpor are roughly equivalent. However, lethargy implies such drowsiness or aversion to activity as is induced by disease, injury, or drugs.

months of lethargy followed my accident

When is stupor a more appropriate choice than torpor?

While the synonyms stupor and torpor are close in meaning, stupor implies a deadening of the mind and senses by shock, narcotics, or intoxicants.

lapsed into an alcoholic stupor

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of torpor To be ready to meet the day, for example, the birds begin to rouse from their torpor about an hour before sunrise, well before visible light cues. Bob Holmes, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024 What remains of the country’s opposition is now in exile — where they have been joined by those who awakened from this torpor. Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024 And blessed be John Leguizamo for coming out at the two-hour mark to shatter the torpor with his razor-sharp ripping of DEI critics and bigots. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2024 This gestures to its deep meaning as a symbol of wisdom, of one’s awakening into knowledge from the torpor of ignorance. Archana Venkatesan, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for torpor 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torpor
Noun
  • The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in U.S. District Court in Southern Florida, accused Stephanopoulos of making the statements with malice and a disregard for the truth.
    USA TODAY, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
  • To establish recklessness in this context, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone has created an obvious risk of death and then acted in wanton disregard of the risk.
    The Editors, National Review, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • But always with a very specific purpose that is never about the kind of anxiety of boredom.
    Adam B. Vary, Variety, 16 Dec. 2024
  • The fear of audience boredom certainly animated Coïc-Gallas to keep finding ways to shift our, and the cat’s, perspective of moving through the world and employ sound with incredible specificity.
    Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 29 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • While many Americans reacted with horror to the brutal shooting, others responded with indifference or callousness, citing their negative experiences with health insurance companies.
    Andrew Stanton, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
  • The big picture: Parent UnitedHealth Group's plummeting market value this week suggests investors fear a regulatory crackdown in response to the public outcry over coverage denials and corporate indifference.
    Maya Goldman, Axios, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Symptoms like a fast heart rate, or shortness of breath, shaking and chills, confusion or lethargy.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Severe infections may include aches, headaches, elevated fever, lethargy, rashes, and blood in the urine or stool.
    Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • First, there was the chest-down, sort of squaring-up motion that drunkards do to bouncers, to be followed by a strike which could not even be conceived of in drunken stupors.
    Simon Johnson, The Athletic, 30 June 2024
  • What bold vocabulary could shake me out of my Swift stupor and juice me up for a new Perry release?
    Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 18 June 2024

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Thesaurus Entries Near torpor

Cite this Entry

“Torpor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torpor. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on torpor

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