Benumbment
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The act of benumbing, or state of being benumbed; torpor. uncountable, usually
"The first cold weather, after insects have entered their winter quarters, produces effects upon them similar to those which occur in the dormouse, hedgehog, and other of the larger animals subject to torpor. At first a partial benumbment takes place; but the insect if touched is still capable of moving its organs."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The first cold weather, after insects have entered their winter quarters, produces effects upon them similar to those which occur in the dormouse, hedgehog, and other of the larger animals subject to torpor. At first a partial benumbment takes place; but the insect if touched is still capable of moving its organs."
Etymology
From benumb + -ment.
More for "benumbment"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.