inanition

[ in-uh-nish-uhn ]

noun

1. exhaustion from lack of nourishment; starvation.
2. lack of vigor; lethargy.

inanition

/ ˌɪnəˈnɪʃən /

noun

1. exhaustion resulting from lack of food
2. mental, social, or spiritual weakness or lassitude

Word History and Origins

Origin of inanition¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin inānitiōn- (stem of inānitiō “emptiness”); inane, -ition

Word History and Origins

Origin of inanition¹

C14: from Late Latin inānītio emptiness, from Latin inānis empty; see inane

Example Sentences

I perceived that I was sickening from excitement and inanition; neither meat nor drink had passed my lips that day, for I had taken no breakfast.

From Literature

There were times in “High Life,” by contrast, when my attention began to wander through space—always a hazard, I guess, when the main menace is moral inanition and a heedless despair.

From The New Yorker

America, which is entertaining itself to inanition, has never experienced a scarcity of entertainment.

From Washington Post

Long before progress, understood as streaming, brought us binge-watching, she foresaw people entertaining themselves into inanition with portable technologies that enable “limitless self-absorption,” making people solipsistic and unmannerly.

From Washington Post

Two pathologists initially found that 49-year-old Michael Stanley Galliher died in August from complications of inanition, defined as an exhausted condition resulting from lack of nourishment.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• apathy
• disinterest
• drowsiness
• inactivity