lethargy
Syllables: leth·ar·gy/ˈlɛθ.ə(ɹ).d͡ʒi//ˈlɛθədʒɪ/
lethargy noun: a state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness.
Noun
lethargy (countable and uncountable, plural lethargies)
- A state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness.
- 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
- 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.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 285
- A condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, deep unresponsiveness, or prolonged sleep patterns.
- 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
- So in order to avoid unpleasant side effects like lethargy and sexual dysfunction, most recent trials also gave men testosterone supplements.2003 October 20, Amanda Ripley, “At Last, the Pill for Men”, in Time
lethargy meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
lethargy in Tamil
- அக்கறை இன்மை, ஈடுப்பாடின்மை, ஊக்கமின்மை, சோம்பல், விருப்பமின்மை, மெத்தனம்
lethargy in Marathi
- lethargy, sluggishness, indolence, drowsiness
- सुस्ती sustī
lethargy in Urdu
- شدت کی نیند, تغافل
lethargy in Bengali
- lethargy, inaction, inactivity
- অক্রিয়তা okriẏota, অক্রিয়ত্ব ôkriẏôttô
More languagesFewer languages
- lethargy in Malayalam
- മന്ദത, ഗാഢനിദ്ര, മയക്കം
- lethargy in Kannada
- ಆಲಸ್ಯ, ನಿರುತ್ಸಾಹ, ಜಡತೆ, ಮಾಂದ್ಯ
- lethargy in Arabic
- خُمُول ḵumūl
- lethargy in Malay
- kelesuan, letargi
- lethargy in Indonesian
- letargi
- lethargy in Persian
- لتارژی letārži
Examples of lethargy in a sentence
- Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy.1995 March 20, Bruce W. Nelan, “Crime and Punishment”, in Time:
- 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.2008 May 9, Nick Fletcher, “Lethargic FTSE lifted by hopes of mining move”, in The Guardian:
Forms of lethargy
| plural | lethargies |
|---|
Origin of lethargy
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).
Words formed from lethargy
Questions about lethargy
- What does lethargy mean?
- Lethargy means a state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness.
- What is lethargy in Tamil?
- Lethargy in Tamil is அக்கறை இன்மை, ஈடுப்பாடின்மை, ஊக்கமின்மை. See Lethargy meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use lethargy in a sentence?
- Yakovlev, one of the architects of the reforms put in place by Mikhail Gorbachev, says he too is "amazed" at the government's lethargy.
- What part of speech is lethargy?
- Lethargy is a noun.
- How do you pronounce lethargy?
- Lethargy is pronounced /ˈlɛθ.ə(ɹ).d͡ʒi/.
- What is the plural of lethargy?
- The plural of lethargy is lethargies.
Words near lethargy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lethargy (page history and authors); lethargy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); सुस्ती (Marathi) (page history and authors); lethargy (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); অক্রিয়তা (Bengali) (page history and authors); lethargy (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lethargy (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lethargy.wav.
Cite this entry: “lethargy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lethargy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.