lethargic

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lethargic

/lɪˈθɑː.d͡ʒɪk/ UK
/lɪˈθɑː.d͡ʒɪk/ British, Southern, Standard
/ləˈθɑː.d͡ʒɪk/ British, Southern, Standard
/lɪˈθɑɹd͡ʒɪk/ Canada, US
/ləˈθɑɹd͡ʒɪk/ Canada, US
/lɪˈθɐːd͡ʒɪk/ Australia
/ləˈθɐːd͡ʒɪk/ Australia
/ləˈθɐːd͡ʒək/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)dʒɪk

Where it comes from

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ληθαργικός (lēthargikós), from λήθαργος (lḗthargos, “forgetful, lethargic”), from λήθη (lḗthē, “a forgetting, forgetfulness”) (from which Lethe (“river in Hades”)) + ἀργός (argós, “not working”). By surface analysis, lethargy + -ic.

adjective more lethargic · most lethargic · lethargick

Sluggish, slow. [That cat] hasn't caught a mouse since he was a slip of a kitten. Except when eating, he does nothing but sleep. Lethargic is the word that springs to the lips. If you cast an eye on him, you will see that he's asleep now.
Similar: torpid, lazy, unmoving, abeyant, at rest, cessant, dormant, dull, fallow, hibernating, idle, inactive
Indifferent, apathetic.
Similar: torpid, unmoving, adiaphroistic, apathetic, apathistical, blasé, blithe, deaf, cool, shiftless, dispassionate, dull

Translations

Every language

adj sluggish, indifferent

Español	tardo, letárgico
中文	昏睡的
हिन्दी	आलसी ālsī
Português	letárgico
Français	mollasson, léthargique
Deutsch	träge
Italiano	letargico
Русский	вя́лый vjályj, апати́чный apatíčnyj

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MLA

"lethargic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lethargic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lethargic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lethargic

Chicago

"lethargic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lethargic.

BibTeX

@misc{lethargic_2026,
  title = {lethargic},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lethargic},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}