as in blank
not expressing any emotion
a catatonic stare was all that the neglected resident of the nursing home seemed capable of
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example 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 catatonic
Do not let despair or doom and gloom put you into a catatonic funk.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Things were going fair to middling with his candidacy until Biden’s catastrophic, catatonic debate performance in June, which caused a major Democratic freak-out and resulted in his grudging departure from the ticket and endorsement of Harris.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Netto and Schindler take pains to point out the irony of Iris’ predicament: Iris has emerged from the emotionally catatonic state that she’s been in since the day of her son’s accident… just to wind up in a physically catatonic state at the site of her son’s accident.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Popular on Variety But a series of mysterious occurrences here and elsewhere in New England — the disappearances of children who later turn up, physically intact yet near-catatonic — grows more immediate once Ben gets pulled under during a night swim.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Things were going fair to middling with his candidacy until Biden’s catastrophic, catatonic debate performance in June, which caused a major Democratic freak-out and resulted in his grudging departure from the ticket and endorsement of Harris.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Netto and Schindler take pains to point out the irony of Iris’ predicament: Iris has emerged from the emotionally catatonic state that she’s been in since the day of her son’s accident… just to wind up in a physically catatonic state at the site of her son’s accident.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Popular on Variety But a series of mysterious occurrences here and elsewhere in New England — the disappearances of children who later turn up, physically intact yet near-catatonic — grows more immediate once Ben gets pulled under during a night swim.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catatonic
Adjective
-
In lightweight cotton, neutral silk, or sumptuous cashmere, a long-sleeve becomes a blank canvas for styling.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Where the stables had been was blank space.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The lengthy pre-copulation stage involved all three sharks motionless on the seafloor for nearly an hour, after which the female started swimming with one male shark biting onto each of her pectoral fins.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Watching mainstream British politicians obsess over the threat of Farage is a bit like watching the video on the internet of the guy standing motionless on the beach in Thailand, the water draining around his ankles, waiting for the tsunami to arrive.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Demand for warehousing, industrial, and micro distribution has increased the value of vacant spaces.—
Kevin Williams,
CNBC,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The Reds needed a starter and the Royals had finally addressed their vacant leadoff spot.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Catatonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catatonic. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share