torpor
Use Torpor in a sentence
pər noun
1.
sluggish inactivity or inertia.
2.
lethargic indifference; apathy.
3.
a state of suspended physical powers and activities.
4.
dormancy, as of a hibernating animal.
Synonyms
2. stolidity, listlessness, lethargy. 4. sleepiness, slumber, drowsiness.
2. stolidity, listlessness, lethargy. 4. sleepiness, slumber, drowsiness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To torpor
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Torpor
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
torpor (ˈtɔːpə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a state of torpidity | |
| [C17: from Latin: inactivity, from torpēre to be motionless] | |
| torpor'ific | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
torpor
1607, from L. torpor "numbness," from torpere "be numb," from PIE base *ster- "stiff" (cf. O.C.S. trupeti, Lith. tirpstu "to become rigid;" Gk. stereos "solid;" O.E. steorfan "to die;" see sterile).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
torpor tor·por (tôr'pər)
n.
A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility.
Lethargy; apathy.
tor'po·rif'ic (-pə-rĭf'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
torpor
a state of lowered body temperature and metabolic activity assumed by many animals in response to adverse environmental conditions, especially cold and heat. The torpid state may last overnight, as in temperate-zone hummingbirds and some insects and reptiles; or it may last for months, in the case of true hibernation and the winter torpor of many cold-blooded vertebrates.
Learn more about torpor with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Rheumy-eyed old timers lean on fences in the grip of some nameless torpor.
During winter it enters torpor and is not surface-active, but it may also enter torpor for various periods at any season.
In addition, it is both a cause and consequence of economic torpor that politics in the south remains the province of strongmen.
If the surroundings are cold, bats enter a sluggish state of suspended animation, known as torpor.
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