as in blank
not expressing any emotion
a catatonic stare was all that the neglected resident of the nursing home seemed capable of
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Recent Examples of catatonic
The missing kids turn out to be standing in near-catatonic stupor in the Lilly family’s basement.
—
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
Other high-dollar attendees who posed for photographs with Obama and Biden described Biden as slow and almost catatonic.
—Jake Tapper, New Yorker, 13 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
Other high-dollar attendees who posed for photographs with Obama and Biden described Biden as slow and almost catatonic.
—Jake Tapper, New Yorker, 13 May 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catatonic
Adjective
-
The court found Kurashov guilty of firing on the Ukrainian soldier at point blank range during an attack in the vicinity of the village of Pryiutne in the Zaporizhzhia region on January 6, 2024.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Similarly, in the second move, the number eight from the top row is moved down, creating a blank square in the middle of the top row.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Outfitted with a messy wig and white clothes, the robot remains motionless before suddenly collapsing to all fours and crawling, evoking scenes straight out of The Ring or The Exorcist.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Tanev immediately dropped to the ice and was motionless for a bit before medical personnel quickly wheeled out a stretcher.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Officials believe the fire started in the occupied home and spread to the vacant home next door.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
-
No public update on the project has been released since 2023, and the land remains vacant.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Catatonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catatonic. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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