as in suspension
a state of temporary inactivity
the husband's feeling that their love life was in suspended animation while his wife lavished all her attention on the new baby
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Recent Examples of suspended animation
One solution long championed by science fiction is suspended animation, or putting humans in a hibernation-like sleep for the duration of travel time.
—
CNN, 28 Dec. 2020
With the agreements with Mexico and Central American in suspended animation during the pandemic, Title 42 is necessary stopgap that Biden will come under intense pressure from pro-immigration groups to reverse.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2020
Four days after the election, the U.S. presidential race hovered in suspended animation Saturday as the long, exacting work of counting votes brought Democrat Joe Biden ever closer to a victory over President Donald Trump.
—Staff and Wire Reports, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2020
New York City, where nearly 24,000 people have died from COVID-19, remains in a kind of suspended animation more than six months after the disease raced across its five boroughs and crippled America's largest metropolis.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 1 Oct. 2020
See All Example Sentences for suspended animation
CNN, 28 Dec. 2020
With the agreements with Mexico and Central American in suspended animation during the pandemic, Title 42 is necessary stopgap that Biden will come under intense pressure from pro-immigration groups to reverse.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2020
Four days after the election, the U.S. presidential race hovered in suspended animation Saturday as the long, exacting work of counting votes brought Democrat Joe Biden ever closer to a victory over President Donald Trump.
—Staff and Wire Reports, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2020
New York City, where nearly 24,000 people have died from COVID-19, remains in a kind of suspended animation more than six months after the disease raced across its five boroughs and crippled America's largest metropolis.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 1 Oct. 2020
See All Example Sentences for suspended animation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suspended animation
Noun
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To be sure, the executive order was signed days after Disney pushed back against the White House’s pressure campaign and restored Jimmy Kimmel to the air after a brief suspension.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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Partly triggering his suspension was the government threatening to leverage its power over pending media deals.—
Darian Woods,
NPR,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In a thriller, the suspense is built around a challenge posed to the protagonist — the last big score before retiring, being innocently accused of a crime or accidentally getting involved in something dangerous and deadly.—
Anders de la Motte,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
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In other words, suspense isn’t about surprise.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suspended animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suspended%20animation. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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