Words / C2

TORP-uh/ˈtɔːpə/

Torpor is dull sluggishness of body or mind (formal): shake off the torpor, summer torpor. Lethargy is a close cousin; laziness is moralising. Torpid is the adjective. Stupor is nearer to stunned unconsciousness. Do not diagnose a quiet, working room as torpor.

Meaning

A state of dull inactivity; physical or mental sluggishness (formal).

Examples

• “August torpor emptied the reading room.”
• “August torpor emptied the stacks until the air-con was fixed.”
• “Hibernating animals enter torpor, which is biology; office torpor is metaphor.”

Good to know

Dull inactivity (formal). Adjective: torpid. Close: lethargy. Stronger daze: stupor. Everyday moralising: laziness.

Near in meaning

lethargy

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