as in boredom
physical or mental inertness
faced with a class forever enveloped in a miasma of apathy and intellectual hebetude, the professor had little hope of kindling an interest in medieval European history
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Recent Examples of hebetude
The leaden weight of an irremediable idleness descended upon General Feraud, who having no resources within himself sank into a state of awe-inspiring hebetude.
—
Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017
Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hebetude
Noun
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The sentiment is notably devoid of any sense of boredom or burnout from the 22-year-old who signed his first recording contract at 15.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
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Hegel even worried that the world would reach a state of global boredom.—
Richard Stengel,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Then mix in the signs of grieving—lethargy, loss of appetite, weight loss, destructive behavior—that, when left untreated, can lead to health complications.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Oct. 2025
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My friend points to her husband’s lethargy as a sign of illness, though neither of them detected it at the time.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Symptoms of the more serious illness include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, according to the CDC.—
Madeline Heim,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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The director does get solid performances out of his French and Italian cast, with the engaging Ronchi (Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams) playing a softspoken woman who seems to be in some kind of permanent stupor until her confessions bring her back to life.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hebetude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hebetude. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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