lethargy
/ˈlɛθ ər dʒi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.69 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, deep unresponsiveness, or prolonged sleep patterns.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Europe lay then under a deep lethargy."
- "Gradually the darkened room seems to emerge from its shadows; familiar objects strike upon the senses—and memory is never so terribly distinct as on its first reviving from such momentary lethargy."
- "As already indicated, timekeeping is very poor. Point-to-point times are not kept, even with a clear road, and whilst fast running has never been a feature of the route because of the large number of junctions and speed restrictions, this Sunday night lethargy is hard to explain."
- "Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy."
- "The increase in mining stocks helped the FTSE 100 shake off some earlier lethargy and close 9.8 points higher at 6270.8, despite the disappointment of unchanged UK interest rates."
- "This Apoplexie is (as I take it) a kind of Lethargie, a sleeping of the blood, a horson Tingling."
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).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɛθ ər dʒi/
- British English: /ˈlɛθədʒɪ/