In Greek mythology, Lethe was the name of a river in the underworld that was also called "the River of Unmindfulness" or "the River of Forgetfulness." Legend held that when someone died, he or she was given a drink of water from the river Lethe to forget all about his or her past life. Eventually this act of forgetting came to be associated with feelings of sluggishness, inactivity, or indifference. The name of the river and the word lethargic, as well as the related noun lethargy, all derive from lēthē, Greek for "forgetfulness."
You'll need to move your lure as slowly as possible to tempt the lethargic fish into feeding … Lenny Rudow, Boating, December 1997… became a drifter and for a time an alcoholic and finally lapsed into lethargic self-abasement. Stanley Karnow, New York Times Book Review, 14 Oct. 1984The audience was cold and lethargic. It is true there were about fifty-seven applauses, but they were not roars of enthusiasm by any means. Lady Bird Johnson12 Jan. 1966, in A White House Diary, 1970 The patient is weak and lethargic. a big meal always makes me feel lethargic and sleepy
Recent Examples on the WebAfter the wound was treated, Apollo was still lethargic and in pain. Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 22 Aug. 2022 The kits, which were often lethargic and wandering by themselves, also seemed unusually easy to approach, showing little fear of humans.New York Times, 18 June 2022 An industry can concentrate and become lethargic and rent-seeking, but concentration can also produce efficiencies of scale and scope. Bart Ziegler, WSJ, 7 Mar. 2022 Putin may imagine using the pretext of anti-Russian violence to launch a big war in Ukraine and show how lethargic and inefficient NATO really is, how fractured the European Union is, and how no one can protect Ukraine from Russia. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2022 The dog had a 105-degree temperature and was very lethargic. Alyssa Lukpat, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2022 Animals with Salmonella infections might be lethargic and develop diarrhea, which may be bloody. Chris Smith, BGR, 14 July 2022 Dogs with salmonella may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 21 June 2022 Dogs with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 20 June 2022 See More