torpor

noun tor·por \ ˈtȯr-pər \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of torpor

1 a : a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility

b : a state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees especially in hibernating and estivating animals

2 : apathy, dullness

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Examples of torpor in a Sentence

The news aroused him from his torpor.
after a lifetime of setbacks, defeats, and failures, he could only greet the latest bad news with a resigned fatalism and dull torpor

Recent Examples of torpor from the Web

Equity options volume is off to a record start in 2018, according to a spokeswoman for the Options Clearing Corp., after years of torpor.

— gunjan banerji, WSJ, "Volatility Roars Back With Biggest Quarterly Rise Ever," 30 Mar. 2018
Some of the torpor is no doubt due to interruptions from planned or evolving building and expansion projects.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Spring art exhibitions that transport to Laguna, Teotihuacan, Iran and beyond," 22 Mar. 2018
After years of torpor, growth in GDP in France should reach 2% in 2018.

— The Economist, "Mind the gapFrance’s new labour problem—skills shortages," 8 Mar. 2018
Barry, by contrast, is so rooted in its hero’s emotional torpor that when the first episode segues into a zany scene with two Chechen gangsters, it’s jarring.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Dark Humanity of Barry," 22 Mar. 2018
The five biggest Wall Street firms all improved from a year earlier, each relying on a different cocktail to overcome continued torpor in the once-lucrative securities business.

— liz hoffman, WSJ, "Morgan Stanley’s Earnings Rise on Strength in Wealth Management," 17 Oct. 2017
After strong growth from high commodity prices, Liberia's economy has slumped into torpor.

— nicholas bariyo, WSJ, "Liberian Leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Yields as Voters Choose Her Successor," 8 Oct. 2017
Today, Russian agriculture is gradually recovering from decades of communist-era torpor and post-Soviet chaos, thanks mainly to systematic state support for private farming over the past decade.

— fred weir, The Christian Science Monitor, "In capitalist Russia, a socialist garden flourishes," 6 Sep. 2017
Another synonym, torpor, is rooted in the idea of numbness or sluggishness.

— ruth walker, The Christian Science Monitor, "Shaking off late-summer hebetude," 7 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'torpor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Our English word torpor looks the same and means the same thing as Latin torpor, from which it was borrowed into Middle English. It stems from the Latin verb torpēre, which means "to be sluggish or numb." "Torpor" first appeared in a 13th-century guide for religious recluses, where it referred to a spiritual or intellectual lethargy, but there is very little evidence of its use over next the 400 years. It began showing up again in the early 1600s in reference to both mental and physical sluggishness. The related adjective "torpid" (from the Latin adjective torpidus) entered the language in the 15th century.

Origin and Etymology of torpor

Middle English, from Latin, from torpēre

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First Known Use: 13th century

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torpor Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of torpor

lethargy, languor, lassitude, stupor, torpor mean physical or mental inertness. lethargy implies such drowsiness or aversion to activity as is induced by disease, injury, or drugs.