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
Winter Passing focuses on Reese (Zooey Deschanel), a struggling New York actress who heads to Michigan to reunite with her distant, brilliant, nearly catatonic author father (Ed Harris).
—
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 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
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
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 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
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
See All Example Sentences for catatonic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for catatonic
Adjective
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The instrument panel display on affected vehicles may fail, showing a blank screen instead of information like speed and warning lights, increasing crash risk.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
27 Aug. 2025
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The concept positions denim as a blank canvas for individuality and freedom of movement.—
Andre Claudio,
Sourcing Journal,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But in recent years, a number of storefronts along Platte have sat vacant where lively watering holes and eateries once stood.—
Sara Rosenthal,
Denver Post,
27 Aug. 2025
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Pearce confirmed that, due to the title being vacant, Vaquer was unfortunately being removed from the Clash in Paris card.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Catatonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catatonic. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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