stupor

[stoo-per, styoo-]

noun

1. suspension or great diminution of sensibility, as in disease or as caused by narcotics, intoxicants, etc..

   He lay there in a drunken stupor.

2. mental torpor; apathy; stupefaction.

   Synonyms: daze, lethargy, inertia

stupor

/ ˈstjuːpə /

noun

1. a state of unconsciousness

2. mental dullness; torpor

Other Word Forms

• stuporous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stupor¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin: “astonishment, insensibility,” equivalent to stup(ēre) “to be numb, to be stunned” + -or -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of stupor¹

C17: from Latin, from stupēre to be aghast

Example Sentences

Since then residents have been in some kind of stupor, dazed, angry and tired.

From BBC

Osbourne later said that his unshakable stupor was due to his use of Valium and a host of other powerful narcotics prescribed by a Beverly Hills physician under investigation for overprescribing drugs to celebrity patients.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a testament to Shannon’s direction that he fully commits to submerging us into Janice’s unimaginable emotional stupor, even when that gutsy approach ultimately proves to be the film’s undoing.

From Los Angeles Times

Those latter respondents have presumably been anesthetized, never set foot in the real world or live in a permanent, chemically induced stupor.

From Los Angeles Times

On the way they passed a young man slumped in a stupor who, according to locals, had taken these drugs.

From BBC

Related Words

• coma 
• slumber 
• trance