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The English word torpor is a 13th-century borrowing from Latin: torpōr-, torpor mean "numbness, paralysis, absence of energy, lethargy," and correspond to the Latin verb torpēre, meaning "to be numb, lack sensation; to be struck motionless; to be sluggish or lethargic." Early use of the English word is found in a 13th-century guide for religious recluses, where it refers to a spiritual or intellectual lethargy, but scant evidence of the word appears between that point and the 1600s, when the word began to be used in reference to both mental and physical sluggishness. The related adjective torpid (from the Latin adjective torpidus, meaning "numbed" or "paralyzed") has since the 15th century been used to mean "numb," but today it more often means "lacking in energy or vigor."
Examples of torpor in a Sentence
Damon Arthur, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2024
Amid the torpor of their burgeoning love, the corpses start to stack up.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
The current two parties have been unable to deal with the resulting mounting debt and economic torpor.
—R. Glenn Hubbard, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2013
But the tryptophan/carb combo is only part of the reason for your torpor.
—Nick Stockton, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Torpor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torpor. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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torpor
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