vegetatively
- adverb
- /ˌvɛdʒɪˈteɪtɪvli/
- Specialized
- She moved vegetatively through her daily routine, barely noticing her surroundings.
Examples
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The patient stared vegetatively at the ceiling, showing no signs of recognition.
-
After the accident, he lay vegetatively in the hospital bed for weeks.
-
He lay vegetatively on the couch all day.
-
After the accident, she responded vegetatively to stimuli.
-
After the accident, he lay vegetatively in the hospital bed for weeks.
-
The patient stared vegetatively at the ceiling, showing no signs of recognition.
-
She moved vegetatively through her daily routine, barely noticing her surroundings.
How Conscious
85
3.7
4
6.4
155
2.9
35
4.0
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
vegetatively = vegetative (semi-transparent) = vegetate + ive + ly
The adverb is transparently formed from 'vegetative' + '-ly', but the clinical/figurative sense ('in a vegetative state') is metaphorical and may not be deducible from the plant-based sense by all learners.
Etymology
Vegetatively can also mean 'in a plant-like way' when used about people or patients; it shares the root veget- with vegetable and vegetation, so to behave vegetatively is to be alive but not acting with thought, moving or existing more like a plant than a thinking person.