All 4 Uses of
torpid
in
The Scarlet Letter
- Two or three of their number, as I was assured, being gouty and rheumatic, or perhaps bed-ridden, never dreamed of making their appearance at the Custom-House during a large part of the year; but, after a torpid winter, would creep out into the warm sunshine of May or June, go lazily about what they termed duty, and, at their own leisure and convenience, betake themselves to bed again.
p. 14.5torpid = sluggish
- It was pleasant in the summer forenoons—when the fervent heat, that almost liquefied the rest of the human family, merely communicated a genial warmth to their half torpid systems—it was pleasant to hear them chatting in the back entry, a row of them all tipped against the wall, as usual; while the frozen witticisms of past generations were thawed out, and came bubbling with laughter from their lips.
p. 16.7torpid = dormant or lifeless
- In short, the almost torpid creatures of my own fancy twitted me with imbecility, and not without fair occasion.
p. 34.2torpid = dormant, lifeless or sluggish
- The moment that he did so, there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own pouring like a torrent into his heart, and hurrying through all his veins, as if the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system.
p. 141.7 *torpid = dormant or lifeless
Definitions:
-
(1)
(torpid) inactive or sluggish -- either from low energy or in a natural resting state such as hibernation
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Torpid is the adjective form of torpor and though it is used less, it is on more SAT vocabulary review lists.