suspended animation
11
7.7
- noun
- /səˈspɛndɪd ˌænɪˈmeɪʃən/
:
animación suspendida
- After the accident, the patient was transported in suspended animation to prevent further harm during the journey.
- state of suspended animation
We talk about all sorts of topics of black holes, suspended animation, exoplanets, off world societies, how to talk to aliens, and all of that.
- We talk about all sorts of topics of black holes, suspended animation, exoplanets, off world societies, how to talk to aliens, and all of that.
Examples
-
To keep him from regaining his powers, they'll keep him in suspended animation.
-
Put in suspended animation for the journey, she is accidentally awakened when the ship malfunctions.
Blog text (12) -
The past few days, she had felt as if they were all in suspended animation.
Fiction book (1999) -
Everything was still, as though in suspended animation.
Fiction book (1991) -
All was held in suspended animation.
Fiction book (1994) -
A year and a half had passed in what Dad called "suspended animation."
-
But low temperatures may preserve life in a state of suspended animation.
Fiction book (1996) -
My crew will sleep away our 10-year journey there... in suspended animation.
-
For two months, the president rested in suspended animation, and the country lingered in a coma of uncertainty and grief.
Fiction book (1996) -
The patient has been flown in from abroad in a state of suspended animation in order to facilitate the healing of his recent limb transplants.
Synonyms
12
8.1
Not moving or changing for a time
Antonyms
How Alive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'suspended' (paused/held) with 'animation' (liveliness/vitality), so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer that some form of vitality is being temporarily paused. However, 'animation' is somewhat abstract and the medical/biological sense (temporary stopping of vital functions) is technical, so the exact meaning—appearing dead without permanent harm—is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Suspended animation may come from a simple image of life being briefly 'suspended': the word animation, meaning 'movement' or 'life', is held still by suspended, so a person looks dead but is only paused. That's why it means 'when body functions stop for a short time but the person can be brought back'.