Synonym Chooser

How does the noun lassitude contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of lassitude are languor, lethargy, stupor, and torpor. While all these words mean "physical or mental inertness," lassitude stresses listlessness or indifference resulting from fatigue or poor health.

a depression marked by lassitude

Where would languor be a reasonable alternative to lassitude?

Although the words languor and lassitude have much in common, languor suggests inertia induced by an enervating climate or illness or love.

languor induced by a tropical vacation

When could lethargy be used to replace lassitude?

The words lethargy and lassitude can be used in similar contexts, but lethargy implies such drowsiness or aversion to activity as is induced by disease, injury, or drugs.

months of lethargy followed my accident

When might stupor be a better fit than lassitude?

While the synonyms stupor and lassitude are close in meaning, stupor implies a deadening of the mind and senses by shock, narcotics, or intoxicants.

lapsed into an alcoholic stupor

When would torpor be a good substitute for lassitude?

In some situations, the words torpor and lassitude are roughly equivalent. However, torpor implies a state of suspended animation as of hibernating animals but may suggest merely extreme sluggishness.

a once alert mind now in a torpor

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lassitude But the opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., went way further than necessary to insulate Trump from prosecution — not simply before the election, which the court, by its lassitude, had nearly guaranteed, but forever, even in the event that President Biden wins reelection. Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, 1 July 2024 After so many episodes, there is no lassitude and the Mbappé saga continues to enliven conversations in France’s sports bars. Samuel Petrequin, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024 Two to four days later, agitation may turn into sleepiness, depression, and lassitude; abdominal pain may concentrate in the upper right quadrant; and the liver might become enlarged, according to the WHO. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 12 Jan. 2024 Pence says that Biden’s lassitude on Ukraine is connected to his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, his foolish pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran, and his recent turn toward dovishness on China. Matthew Continetti, National Review, 8 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for lassitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lassitude
Noun
  • With ubiquity came a degree of creative exhaustion.
    Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 6 June 2025
  • Their temporary electronic face tattoo, or e-tattoo, can read brain waves and not only detect when the ol' gray matter is overworked, but also predict when exhaustion is approaching.
    Paul McClure May 29, New Atlas, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • These spectacular environments and their all-consuming nature are often a form of therapy, a response to loneliness, boredom, trauma, mental illness, or religious mania–sometimes a combination.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
  • However, attendees showed no sign of boredom and punctuated her approximately 30-minute oration at City Hall with applause.
    Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 5 June 2025
Noun
  • One showed camouflage fatigues worn by a Colombian fighter festooned with patches that include the flag of Ukraine.
    Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
  • The long day and possible fatigue come game time didn’t matter.
    Emma Moon, Charlotte Observer, 7 June 2025
Noun
  • More severe cases of salmonellosis may include a high fever, aches, headaches, lethargy, a rash, blood in the urine or stool, and in some cases may become fatal.
    Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
  • Signs that your pup may be unwell include significant weight loss; chronic vomiting or diarrhea; weakness and lethargy, says Knutsford Veterinary Surgery on its website.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Hours later, as the commanders slept at home in a medicated stupor, the handmaids spread out all over with the intent of killing Gilead’s leaders in their sleep.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 16 May 2025
  • Drugs either didn’t work or put him in a severe stupor.
    Kayana Szymczak For The New York Times, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Noun
  • This languor expands in the velvety air.
    J.T. Townley, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2025
  • During an epidemic that otherwise made life hectic and clamorous, the militarized languor of the residents was glaring precisely because Liberians who were already displaced from the recent Civil War felt abandoned by the government.
    Edna Bonhomme, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lassitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lassitude. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.

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