Hebetude
\HEB-uh-tood-; -tyood\
noun
Mental dullness or sluggishness.
While too many Americans slouch toward a terminal funk of hebetude and sloth, Bendians race ahead with toned muscles, wide eyes and brains perpetually wired on adrenaline.
–”Wild rides in the heart of central Oregon: Bent out of shape in Bend,” Washington Times, August 11, 2001
Earlier on, when we merely democratized fame, we defended the right of any mouth-breather to rise from deserved obscurity on the strength of his God-given hebetude.
–Florence King, ”The misanthrope’s corner,” National Review, May 18, 1998
From that solitude, full of despair and terror, he was torn out brutally, with kicks and blows, passive, sunk in hebetude.
–Joseph Conrad, Nostromo
Courtesy of Dictionary.com
This word came up during a computer training class at work I endured today. It wasn’t too horrible, but I must say I was quite concerned when the class started out with, ”This is your desktop. These pictures are icons. This is the start menu. This is how you turn off your computer.” I’m sorry but if you don’t already know these things, you don’t need to be working here.
