lethargy · noun — A state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness. It carries an Arena rating of 1511, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, lethargy ranks #641 of 17,137 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #896 of 17,147 for Most Malleable Words, #1,767 of 17,137 for Most Elegant Words, #2,010 of 17,154 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
lethargy is pronounced /ˈlɛθ.ə(ɹ).d͡ʒi/.
Why “lethargy” is a great word
A pathological state of profound drowsiness, torpor, and apathy, a profound inertia of both body and mind. From Middle English *litargie*, from Medieval Latin *litargia*, from Late Latin *lēthārgia*, borrowed from Ancient Greek ληθᾱργῐ́ᾱ (*lēthārgíā*, 'drowsiness'), from λήθᾱργος (*lḗthargos*, 'forgetful, lethargic') + -ῐ́ᾱ (*-íā*, adjectival suffix). Unlike 'lassitude,' which suggests a weary, psychological listlessness, or 'sluggishness,' which denotes mere slowness of action, lethargy is a heavier, more medical silence within. It is the oppressive warmth of a sickroom at three in the afternoon, the unblinking stare at a page whose words refuse to cohere, the leaden weight that makes even the thought of movement a distant theory—the self, temporarily unmoored, drifting in a half-lit room where even the desire to change one's condition has gone dormant.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English litargie, from Medieval Latin litargia, from Late Latin lēthārgia, borrowed from Ancient Greek ληθᾱργῐ́ᾱ (lēthārgĭ́ā, “drowsiness”), from λήθᾱργος (lḗthārgos, “forgetful, lethargic”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, adjectival suffix).
noun
- A state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness.e.g.“Europe lay then under a deep lethargy.” — 1687, Francis Atterbury, An Answer to Some Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation at Oxford, page 42:
- A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, deep unresponsiveness, or prolonged sleep patterns.e.g.“This Apoplexie is (as I take it) a kind of Lethargie, a sleeping of the blood, a horson Tingling.” — c. 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.