Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Dullness of mind; mental lethargy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Obtuseness; dullness; lethargy; stupidity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Dullness; stupidity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Mental lethargy or dullness.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun mental lethargy or dullness

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin hebetūdō, from Latin hebes, hebet-, dull.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Late Latin hebetūdō.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Does this word have any relation to Hebe, the cupbearer of the gods? Or the heebie-jeebies?

    May 3, 2008

  • I can never seem to make myself remember what this word means. I wonder why?

    May 3, 2008

  • "From that solitude, full of despair and terror, he was torn out brutally, with kicks and blows, passive, sunk in hebetude."

    - Joseph Conrad, 'Nostromo'.

    August 7, 2009

  • i...buh...ermm.. what? oh. durrr

    August 8, 2009

  • "Insensibility, melancholia, hebetude; ordinary mental tumult and more elaborate physical vexations (boils, a variety of thrip that caused the skin of an unfaithful lover to erupt in a spectacular rash, the color of violet mallows)—Saloona Morn cultivated these in her parterre in the shadow of Cobalt Mountain."

    "Return of the Fire Witch" by Elizabeth Hand, p 209 of Errantry: Strange Stories

    April 29, 2013

  • Someone needs to create a tude list. I'd do it myself if it weren't for this damn hebetude going around.

    April 30, 2013

  • the *tude abides http://www.wordnik.com/search/*tude

    April 30, 2013

  • Is there a relationship with etude and student?

    April 30, 2013

  • étudiant

    "student" to French

    April 30, 2013

  • A favourite of Conrad, along with desuetude and mansuetude.

    April 30, 2013

  • It begs 'shebecomestude' ! What does that elicit?

    May 1, 2013

  • Also see i-do-itude

    May 1, 2013