lethargy
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈlɛθədʒi/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈlɛθɚdʒi/
Noun

lethargy

  1. (pathology) A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, or prolonged sleep patterns. [from 14th c.]
    • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 2:
      This Apoplexie is (as I take it) a kind of Lethargie, a sleeping of the blood, a horson Tingling.
    • 2003, Amanda Ripley, "At Last, the Pill for Men", Time, 20 Oct 2003:
      So in order to avoid unpleasant side effects like lethargy and sexual dysfunction, most recent trials also gave men testosterone supplements.
  2. A state of extreme torpor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion or interest; loosely, sluggishness, laziness. [from 14th c.]
    • Europe lay then under a deep lethargy.
    • 1995, Bruce W Nelan, "Crime and Punishment", Time, 20 Mar 1995:
      Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy.
    • 2008, Nick Fletcher, The Guardian, 9 May 2008:
      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.
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