1
as in sleepy
slow to move or act
a torpid sloth that refused to budge off its tree branch
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in numb
lacking in sensation or feeling
my tongue and throat remained torpid for a time following the endoscopy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of torpid
The sequel, by contrast, is torpid, clogged with lengthy but uninteresting tête-à-têtes and generally lacking in vigor, even in the two blowout battle scenes in the final act.
—
Kyle Smith, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2022
Even since Thailand’s 2014 coup d’etat that brought Prayuth to power, reform of the police has topped the agenda, yet progress has been torpid.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 6 Oct. 2022
The intensity of that airlift — one of the largest in history — stands in sharp contrast to the torpid pace of evacuations after the withdrawal.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
This lowers the body temperature so much that a torpid hummingbird maintains a hypothermic threshold that nears death.
—Janaya Wecker, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for torpid
Kyle Smith, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2022
Even since Thailand’s 2014 coup d’etat that brought Prayuth to power, reform of the police has topped the agenda, yet progress has been torpid.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 6 Oct. 2022
The intensity of that airlift — one of the largest in history — stands in sharp contrast to the torpid pace of evacuations after the withdrawal.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
This lowers the body temperature so much that a torpid hummingbird maintains a hypothermic threshold that nears death.
—Janaya Wecker, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for torpid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torpid
Adjective
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At some point, sleepy teenagers make their way into the kitchen, lured by the aroma of whatever their mom has decided to bake before dawn.—
Julie Jordan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 June 2026
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Ferries make regular runs to the sleepy island community located 40 or so miles off the coast of the New England mainland — weather permitting, of course.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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Feeling numb or unable to experience emotions.—
Julie Kaplow,
USA Today,
30 May 2026
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Outgunned in Monaco, over-cautious in Lyon, no holding midfielder in the final defeat to Chelsea in 2021 and a Real Madrid remontada the following year which left them numb.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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Agathe finds her boss’s remarks dull, but more or less shares these views.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
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Dish soap strips away the protective wax and can actually dull or damage the paint over time, leaving it more vulnerable to scratches and fading.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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When Bill’s older brother Henry (Barry Ward) finds the pianist in numbed solitude in his dingy apartment, Bill has canceled all his upcoming gigs, saying Scotty cannot be replaced.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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Ingber also notes the numbed response to these strikes from much of the American public, something that, in part, may come from the routine nature of these drone strikes as something that the nation has become desensitized to dropping bombs on enemies.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Labor Day holiday at the start of May failed to offset sluggish consumer spending, with Beijing scaling back trade-in subsidies earlier this year.—
Anniek Bao,Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
16 June 2026
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Kylian Mbappé’s 2026 FIFA World Cup debut started slow and sluggish — and so did the performances from the rest of his teammates.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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When that fire started four years ago, Zowey McCue was asleep in a locked bathroom, where a plywood slab placed over the tub served as her makeshift bed, officials said.—
Caroline Silva,
AJC.com,
15 June 2026
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The memory foam layers adjust to your sleep position, which makes falling asleep easy.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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Law enforcement said Woods, who was uninjured but appeared lethargic, was showing signs of impairment at the scene.—
Ben Brachfeld,
PEOPLE,
15 June 2026
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The Cavs looked lethargic, the building lacked energy because the home team gave them nothing to cheer for and now this erratic, inconsistent season could come to an end Monday night.—
Esfandiar Baraheni,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Adjective
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Flights via the Gulf are being restored as the Iran conflict remains quiescent, but tourists are staying away from the region itself.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
7 May 2026
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Local Democratic politicians were strangely quiescent, despite a pre–Catahoula Crunch poll showing that nearly 80 percent of New Orleans residents opposed the deployment.—
Daniel Brook,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Torpid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torpid. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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