Words / C2

LAS-it-yood/ˈlæsɪtjuːd/

Lassitude is tiredness and lack of energy (formal / literary): a mood of lassitude, summer lassitude. Fatigue and tiredness are everyday; lethargy and torpor (already in the dictionary) are close. Latitude is distance from the equator — a lookalike. Do not diagnose a quiet, working room as lassitude.

Meaning

A state of tiredness and lack of energy (formal / literary).

Examples

• “August lassitude emptied the reading room until the air-con returned.”
• “August lassitude emptied the stacks until someone fixed the air-con.”
• “Torpor is dull inactivity; lassitude is weariness. Latitude is geography. Laziness is a moralising everyday word.”

Good to know

Weariness (formal). Everyday: tiredness / fatigue. Close: lethargy / torpor. Mix-up: latitude (geography). Not a moral judgement.

Near in meaning

fatigue

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