Synonyms of stupor

stupor

noun

ˈstü-pər 

as in boredom

physical or mental inertness

shocked by news of impending layoffs, the workers shuffled through their shift in a quiet stupor

Synonyms & Similar Words

• boredom
• lethargy
• torpor
• lassitude
• languor
• indifference
• fatigue
• listlessness
• malaise
• laziness
• sleepiness
• hebetude
• narcosis
• inaction
• idleness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• vigor
• vitality
• vivacity
• enthusiasm
• eagerness
• enterprise
• vim
• ambition
• spiritedness
• keenness

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun stupor contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of stupor are languor, lassitude, lethargy, and torpor. While all these words mean "physical or mental inertness," stupor implies a deadening of the mind and senses by shock, narcotics, or intoxicants.

lapsed into an alcoholic stupor

When is languor a more appropriate choice than stupor?

The words languor and stupor can be used in similar contexts, but languor suggests inertia induced by an enervating climate or illness or love.

languor induced by a tropical vacation

When would lassitude be a good substitute for stupor?

The synonyms lassitude and stupor are sometimes interchangeable, but lassitude stresses listlessness or indifference resulting from fatigue or poor health.

a depression marked by lassitude

Where would lethargy be a reasonable alternative to stupor?

In some situations, the words lethargy and stupor are roughly equivalent. However, lethargy implies such drowsiness or aversion to activity as is induced by disease, injury, or drugs.

months of lethargy followed my accident

When is it sensible to use torpor instead of stupor?

While the synonyms torpor and stupor are close in meaning, 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

Recent Examples of stupor

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

The missing kids turn out to be standing in near-catatonic stupor in the Lilly family’s basement. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025

Ozzy canceled shows, or performed in a stupor, and sometimes attacked his bandmates. —Scott Simon, NPR, 26 July 2025

By contrast, Sue’s insistence that everything will be all right is so plainly unrealistic that the audience is waiting for some actual catastrophe to shake her out of her stupor. —Eliana Dockterman, Time, 25 July 2025