Definition of torpornext

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun torpor contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of torpor are languor, lassitude, lethargy, and stupor. While all these words mean "physical or mental inertness," 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

In what contexts can languor take the place of torpor?

The words languor and torpor are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, languor suggests inertia induced by an enervating climate or illness or love.

languor induced by a tropical vacation

When can lassitude be used instead of torpor?

While in some cases nearly identical to torpor, lassitude stresses listlessness or indifference resulting from fatigue or poor health.

a depression marked by lassitude

When would lethargy be a good substitute for torpor?

In some situations, the words lethargy and torpor 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 stupor a more appropriate choice than torpor?

While the synonyms stupor and torpor are close in meaning, stupor implies a deadening of the mind and senses by shock, narcotics, or intoxicants.

lapsed into an alcoholic stupor

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 torpor The only people for whom this situation isn’t terrifying are us, the audience, who feel nothing but the purgatorial torpor of sitting through a movie that’s too afraid of its own concept to do anything truly provocative with it. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025 Though the idiom of abuse has changed, the critics are as hostile as ever, while their targets react only with curious torpor. David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 As for Farrell, rarely has a pathological abdication of responsibility been so uncannily conveyed; he’s well matched by his The Beguiled co-star, Nicole Kidman, who cuts through the body-snatcher torpor of the material with her growing rage and panic. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 Rip wakes from his torpor not just on any day, but on an election day, which allows Irving to magnify his hero’s disorientation. John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for torpor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torpor
Noun
  • The additional murder charge, filed Friday, requires proving Sahil acted with wanton disregard for others and knowingly engaged in high-risk behavior.
    Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 12 Mar. 2026
  • This reflects a historical and fundamental societal disregard for Black children, particularly Black boys, as human beings — a society that does not extend to them the same presumption of childhood or worthiness of grace that is typically afforded to white children.
    Erika Strauss Chavarria, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • His father bought him the plane ticket after Jeffrey found himself in a bit of a boredom rut with friends and getting into the wrong kind of trouble.
    Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Only Clark’s passivity seems more out of the boredom of having peaked at local-news celebrity status than anything else.
    Andy Andersen, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • At the George offices, Berman loses it once and for all at John’s lateness, his indifference to the daily operations of the magazine, and his hardheaded refusal to consider the TV show.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Leslie Hairston, a former City Council colleague of Preckwinkle’s whose South Side ward abutted hers, said Preckwinkle’s scholarly disposition shouldn’t be mistaken for indifference.
    A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Just a nibble on a leaf or petal can lead to rapid kidney damage with loss of appetite, vomiting, hypersalivation, lethargy and sometimes neurological signs such as stumbling, tremors and seizures.
    The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026
  • This was team-wide lethargy by a club that was without leading scorer Travis Konecny (upper-body injury) for the second straight game and defenseman Nick Seeler (lower-body injury), who was hurt Monday in Toronto.
    Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Patrons — many just as panicked and some in a drunken stupor — ran by her.
    Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
  • That’s not to say there isn’t a company-wide stupor after last week’s bombshells.
    Michael Schneider, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Torpor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torpor. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.

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