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torpid

torpid

1 8.2
To move slowly and have little energy or interest
  • adjective
  • /ˈtɔːrpɪd/
translation icon : tórpido
  • We overtook the occasional bus belching smoke or a lorry lisping with billowing hay; we blasted through bustling towns and torpid villages.
  • become torpid

Examples

  • The evening was thick and torpid, and everyone wore T-shirts, white or gray.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Set a time limit, though; memories can pull you into a torpid remove from work.

    Academic text (2010)
  • We are different now, torpid in the way we enter and leave.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Washington is exaggerating the situation in order to arouse this torpid Congress into action.

  • Hardy, this book should cure every torpid liver and chronic grouch in America.

  • Though somewhat torpid after his meal, Mr. DiTaranto was unwilling to let the visitor wander off.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The window next to her table was open, and the warm air was damp, musty, with a torpid movement that was more like an exhalation than a breeze.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Under fluffy clouds pushed by a torpid breeze, Houston struck Teresa like some hypermodernist's depiction of Venice, before that lamented city's final submergence.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • After a long day at work, I felt torpid and had no energy to go out with friends.

  • The summer heat made her feel torpid, and all she wanted to do was lie on the couch.

Synonyms

sluggish
vstorpid
30 3.9

Moving or working slowly and with little energy

shows similar slowness but focuses more on low interest
dormant
vstorpid
17 4.0

Not active now but alive and able to become active again, for example a volcano or seed

is a more general ongoing inactivity with low energy
lethargic
vstorpid
15 5.3

Being very tired and slow with little interest or energy

is similar but highlights low interest rather than temperament
tepid
vstorpid
14 6.2

Showing little interest or enthusiasm

is similar but emphasizes low energy and lack of motion as well
fatigued
vstorpid
13 4.1

Feeling very tired and having no energy

shares low energy but the key is not only physical tiredness
inert
vstorpid
7 5.5

Not moving and without the energy or will to act

describes passive stillness while adding dull disinterest
lackadaisical
vstorpid
5 8.6

Showing little energy or interest and doing things slowly and carelessly

is similar but the key implies physical slowness and low interest
inactive
vstorpid
4 2.3

Not moving and not showing much physical or mental energy

is the same idea but stresses dull lack of interest
indolent
vstorpid
2 8.0

Not wanting to work or try hard

is more a temporary physical slowness rather than a lasting habit
sluggy
vstorpid
1 7.8

Feeling slow and without energy

is similar but stresses being still and uninterested rather than heavy feeling
laggy
vstorpid
  • UK
1 6.8

Feeling slow and without energy after being tired or ill

describes the same slowness but the key is more general and dull
draggy
vstorpid
  • Informal
1 7.6

Slow and boring so you feel tired

is similar but stresses not moving or showing much interest
hebetudinous
vstorpid
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who is slow in thinking and low in energy

is the same dullness but adds low physical energy and motion
anergic
vstorpid
9.1

Feeling very tired and unable to do much

is the same low energy but framed as general dullness
wilted
vstorpid
3.7

Feeling weak and tired as if you do not have energy

is similar but emphasizes passivity and lack of interest
hypoactive
vstorpid
  • Specialized
8.0

Less active than usual in the body or mind

is similar but focuses on dull lack of interest rather than clinical reduction
oscitant
vstorpid
  • Archaic
9.9

Showing boredom by yawning or being very sleepy

is similar but stresses general low energy rather than sleepiness

Antonyms

664 1.0

Operating now and not stopped

111 1.3

Having a lot of energy and enthusiasm

93 1.6

Full of energy and active

How Active

sluggish
30 3.9
listless
12 6.1
lethargic
15 5.3
torpid
1 8.2
inactive
4 2.3

Surface Forms

torpid positive

Morphology

torpid = torpor (transparent) = torpor + id

The adjective is a standard adjectival formation from the noun 'torpor' meaning lethargy, so its meaning is predictable from the base.

Etymology

The word torpid comes from an old Latin word torpere that means 'to be numb' or 'stiff', and you can also see the same root in the English word torpor. So, torpid describes someone or something that is slow, inactive, or with little energy, like a body that feels numb and cannot move quickly.