comatose

adjective

co·​ma·​tose ˈkō-mə-ˌtōs  ˈkä- 

1

: of, resembling, or affected with coma

The patient lay comatose, sustained by respirators.

2

: characterized by lethargic inertness : torpid

a comatose economy

Broadway was theatrically comatose that summer.

Synonyms

• dead
• sleepy
• slow

Example Sentences

She lay in a comatose state.

the city's downtown has been comatose for years

Recent Examples on the Web

That backing comes in the form of conscious-like brain activity observed in comatose patients immediately prior to their death. —Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 9 May 2023

All had been comatose and were considered beyond medical assistance, writes the Guardian’s Hannah Devlin. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2023

The six-year veteran officer fell into a comatose state after the attack due to a severe head injury, Penzone said. —Sydney Carruth, The Arizona Republic, 1 May 2023

The percentage of affordable housing that developers would be required to build in San Francisco would be lowered under a new proposal aimed at reviving the city's comatose housing development industry. —J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Apr. 2023

Another was comatose, a soldier in an army that didn’t care. —Elisa Gonzalez, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2023

On July 7th, 2022 – just four days before his sixth birthday – Nathan was transferred to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston in a comatose state, more than 700 miles from home. —Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2023

An elite runner is used to handling pain, and being semi-comatose all day seemed much worse. —Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 29 May 2020

The upshot was supposed to be thousands of mini-stimuli injected into a near-comatose consumer economy, raising prices and encouraging businesses to reopen. —James C. Cobb, Time, 27 Apr. 2020

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Word History

Etymology

French comateux, from Greek kōmat-, kōma — see coma entry 1

First Known Use

1755, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

comatose

adjective

co·​ma·​tose ˈkō-mə-ˌtōs  ˈkäm-ə- 

: of, resembling, or affected with coma

a comatose patient

a comatose condition