Meaning & use
lethargic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Feeling very tired and slow, with little wish or strength to do anything active.
Grammar: Often follows a linking verb: I feel lethargic, or the patient seemed lethargic.
Patterns
- feel lethargic
- lethargic after something
After the heavy lunch, everyone felt lethargic and sleepy.
The hot weather left the dogs lethargic and unwilling to play.
She was lethargic for days after the flu.
adjectivecomparable
Showing a lack of effort or enthusiasm, as in a slow, unenergetic response.
Grammar: Applied to actions or systems too: a lethargic response, a lethargic market.
Patterns
- lethargic response
- lethargic growth
The government's lethargic response to the flood angered residents.
Sales were lethargic throughout the summer.
He gave a lethargic wave and went back inside.
Word forms
| comparative | more lethargic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most lethargic |
Common combinations
- feel lethargic
- I always feel lethargic in January.
- lethargic response
- The lethargic response from the council frustrated voters.
- lethargic growth
- Economists warned of lethargic growth next year.
- seem lethargic
- The puppy seemed lethargic, so we called the vet.
- lethargic pace
- The traffic moved at a lethargic pace.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sluggish
- Sluggish is the more general word for slow movement or performance, and is often used for machines or markets as well as people.
- listless
- Listless stresses lack of interest and spirit, while lethargic stresses lack of physical energy.
- drowsy
- Drowsy means sleepy and ready to nod off, which is narrower than lethargic.
- apathetic
- Apathetic describes not caring, while lethargic need not involve any lack of care, just low energy.
Opposites
Word family
- lethargy noun
- a state of tiredness and lack of energy
- lethargically adverb
- in a slow, tired way
- Lethe proper noun
- the river of forgetfulness in Greek myth, source of the word
Commonly confused: lethargic or letharg?
lethargic vs letharg
There is no such word; the adjective is lethargic and the noun is lethargy.
Practice
The patient has been ___ for three days and barely gets out of bed.
Choose one answer.
Lethargic fits someone with very low energy who stays in bed. Vigorous and restless suggest the opposite, and jovial describes a cheerful manner.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lethargic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.