1
as in sleepy
slow to move or act
a torpid sloth that refused to budge off its tree branch
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in numb
lacking in sensation or feeling
my tongue and throat remained torpid for a time following the endoscopy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of torpid
This lowers the body temperature so much that a torpid hummingbird maintains a hypothermic threshold that nears death.
—
Janaya Wecker, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022
Inside, though, Ingrid is in a state of torpid discontent, unhappy with her circumstances but unsure of how to change them.
—Sarah Chihaya, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2022
The water was so torpid that a thick layer of dust had settled onto it, giving it a cheerless brown tinge.
—Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2022
The ongoing slog has come to symbolize the dilemma multinationals face when confronting Germany’s notoriously torpid bureaucracy.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for torpid
Janaya Wecker, Good Housekeeping, 10 Aug. 2022
Inside, though, Ingrid is in a state of torpid discontent, unhappy with her circumstances but unsure of how to change them.
—Sarah Chihaya, The New York Review of Books, 25 May 2022
The water was so torpid that a thick layer of dust had settled onto it, giving it a cheerless brown tinge.
—Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2022
The ongoing slog has come to symbolize the dilemma multinationals face when confronting Germany’s notoriously torpid bureaucracy.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for torpid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torpid
Adjective
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He’s played with the perfect amount of sleepy charm by the always-great Benicio Del Toro.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
24 Sep. 2025
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Odenkirk plays an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town to take the temp sheriff post, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Rob yelled into the wind that his toes were growing numb.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
20 Sep. 2025
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His chest immediately tightened and his arm went numb.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Boosting Serum is a lightweight, brightening formula designed to even tone and revive dull, tired skin.—
Sarah Han,
Allure,
25 Sep. 2025
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The best clarifying shampoo can completely transform a lackluster shower routine, deep cleansing hair, exfoliating the scalp, and banishing excess oils and product buildup that leave strands flat, dull, or frizz-prone.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Starbucks weathered sluggish sales in recent years as customers grappled with a years-long bout of elevated inflation, analysts previously told ABC News.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
25 Sep. 2025
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In another sign of sluggish domestic demand, China’s consumer prices fell more than expected last month while deflation in wholesale prices persisted for nearly three years.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The twenty-one-year-old is talking on the phone, and the ten-year-old is asleep on the sofa, her iPad clutched in her hands, her mouth slightly open.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
21 Sep. 2025
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According to court documents obtained by WPMT, the couple’s son was asleep during the shooting before discovering his mom’s body on the floor.—
Mike Stunson,
Miami Herald,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Unfortunately, the infectious energy of the scare zone gets completely lost in the lethargic and drowsy maze.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
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At first, Walters feared the chicken might not survive—describing her as lethargic and depressed.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Throughout most of modern history, it was thought that prudent government debt management involved bringing down the ratio of debt to GDP during quiescent periods of growth in order to store fiscal ammunition for the next crisis.—
Kenneth S. Rogoff,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
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Khanna is one of a number of progressive congressional Democrats encouraged by the party to appear in red-district town halls in an attempt to rebut impressions that the party is quiescent in the face of Trump’s onslaught.—
Andrew Cockburn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Torpid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torpid. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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