torpor
a state of sluggish inactivity or mental dullness
Word origin: From Latin torpere, to be numb or stiff.
Torpor in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing torpor in a sentence.
The afternoon heat induced a torpor that made any work nearly impossible.
The afternoon heat induced a torpor that slowed the whole laboratory to a crawl until the air-conditioning was restored.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
The committee's report was praised for its candor, yet its central recommendation was so blank that administrators could cite it to justify nearly any policy they had already resolved to pursue.
Using “torpor” well
Torpor denotes a state of sluggish inactivity or mental dullness, whether physical or intellectual. It is the opposite of vigor or alertness.
More GRE words starting with T
understood or implied without being openly stated
habitually reserved and uncommunicative in speech
only loosely relevant; diverging from the main point
perceptible by touch or concrete enough to be grasped
to twist together into a confused or knotted mass
equivalent in effect or value to something else
to dull or damage the luster, reputation, or purity of something
needlessly repeating an idea using different words
Questions about “torpor”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.