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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Pets staying at home alone while owners work suffer from boredom, which can cause chronic psychological distress and health problems.—
Margret Grebowicz,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
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But the flip side of such routine is the potential for boredom and lethargy.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But the flip side of such routine is the potential for boredom and lethargy.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Feb. 2026
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Emery’s side appeared strangely leggy, as if having a week between games caused more lethargy than looking well-rested.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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Spotlight The Welcome Demise of Climate Change Catastrophism Is the American Left finally waking up from its decades-long climate catastrophism stupor?—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hebetude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hebetude. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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