Definition of "torpor" []

• A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility. (noun)
• Lethargy; apathy. See Synonyms at lethargy. (noun)
• The dormant, inactive state of a hibernating or estivating animal. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Hibernation: Each winter bears enter a sluggish state called torpor, which is not true hibernation."
• ""has broken the spell under which we lay in torpor for ages, taking it to be the normal condition of certain races living in certain geographical limits.""
• "Elizabeth alone had the power to draw me from these fits; her gentle voice would soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with human feelings when sunk in torpor."