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torpor Definition

tor·por (tôr′pər)

noun

  1. a state of being dormant or inactive; temporary loss of all or part of the power of sensation or motion; sluggishness; stupor
  2. dullness; apathy

Etymology: L < torpere: see torpid

torpor Synonyms

torpor

n.

  1. Stupor

    coma, dormancy, latency, inactivity; see stupor.

  2. Apathy

    dullness, sluggishness, apathy, inanition; see indifference 1, laziness.

torpor Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • enter: Even during the summer, bats can enter torpor during cool spells.
  • induce: But it had been a long day, and the meal was inducing a pleasant torpor.

Adjective modifier

  • mental: The seminal essence pervades the channels of the body, and so there comes mental torpor like thickening darkness.
  • spiritual: And so it is in the case of spiritual torpor.
  • general: Beyond that, the year was decidedly spasmodic, with islands of excessively intense activity rising out of the general miasmic torpor.
  • intellectual: This gave me great cheer in those evil years of enforced idleness and intellectual torpor which my health imposed upon me.
  • deep: As Newcastle stirred from its economic slumber with piecemeal regeneration, Gateshead sank into an even deeper torpor.
torpor Quotes

He woke me from the torpor of the accustomed.

—Warren, Robert Penn