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 The result of this lassitude is that cars still rule the streets. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025 Wakefield-Scurr’s discoveries have helped rupture the long-standing lassitude. Megan Feringa, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for lassitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lassitude
Noun
  • Making critical decisions from exhaustion, not vision.
    Yermys Pena, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • My Lebanese friends and business associates increasingly speak of exhaustion with conflict, hunger for economic progress, and today’s unprecedented opportunities.
    semafor.com, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • But parents from years past had fewer regulations, so kids were able to experience boredom, befriend kids their parents were unfamiliar with, and rebel in small ways outside of their parents purview (like stealing from Claire's or putting on layers of Nars blush in the 7th grade).
    Annabelle Canela, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Dopamine loops from social media, games, and constant notifications have reduced their tolerance for boredom, focus and real-world interaction.
    Elan Gepner-Dales, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • It’s always conducted in the blind, with protocols employed to avoid any undue influence, from pay-to-play to palate fatigue.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Lisa Healy, 29, from Toronto, Canada, battled decades of fatigue, weakness and low energy, which affected her mood and was often described as sadness.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • There can also be severe neurological changes, such as confusion or lethargy.
    Julie Scott, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2025
  • In cats and dogs, symptoms can include fever, lethargy and loss of appetite, in addition to lymph node swelling under the jaw.
    Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • The same corporate event planners who used to book futurists with hologram slide decks are now on the hunt for celebrity performers who can yank an audience out of its AI stupor for ten electrifying minutes.
    Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The book’s languor can be ponderous and vintage, more 20th century than 21st.
    Daniel Felsenthal, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 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 10 Sep. 2025.

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