suspended animation
noun
1
: temporary suspension of the vital functions (as in persons nearly drowned)
2
: a condition (such as inactivity) likened to suspended animation
Examples of suspended animation in a Sentence
animals that sleep through the winter in a state of suspended animation
the husband's feeling that their love life was in suspended animation while his wife lavished all her attention on the new baby
Recent Examples on the Web
Where were the flying cars, suspended animation, immortality drugs, androids, and colonies on Mars?
—
Literary Hub,
12 Nov. 2025
Tessier, meanwhile, focuses exclusively on applying the science of hibernation and suspended animation to organs that are being held for transplantation, to prevent them from being injured in the process.
—
Deborah Balthazar,
STAT,
22 July 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for suspended animation
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Literary Hub,
12 Nov. 2025
Tessier, meanwhile, focuses exclusively on applying the science of hibernation and suspended animation to organs that are being held for transplantation, to prevent them from being injured in the process.
—
Deborah Balthazar,
STAT,
22 July 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for suspended animation
Cite this Entry
“Suspended animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspended%20animation. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
suspended animation
noun
sus·pend·ed animation
sə-ˈspend-əd- 
: temporary suspension of the vital functions (as in persons nearly drowned)
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