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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Over time, chronic stress can lead to social isolation, boredom, and lack of physical activity, which negatively impacts both the emotional and physical health of shelter animals.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
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The border was so quiet that National Guardsmen were reportedly struggling with boredom.—
Stephania Taladrid,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Some of these symptoms include a high fever, lethargy, hearing loss, kidney failure, confusion, brain damage, learning disabilities, coma and possibly death.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2025
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Common symptoms for domoic acid poisoning include lethargy, seizures, a bobbing and weaving of their heads and in some cases, aggression, Viezbicke said.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Maryland, which trailed 20-9 midway through the first half, stumbled out of its early stupor and went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game.—
Christian Babcock,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2025
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German movies of the 1970s will forever be linked with the New German Cinema movement, the auteur directors — led by the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schlöndorff — who shook the country out of its postwar stupor.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hebetude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hebetude. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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