Word: lassitude (noun)

Associations

"Lassitude" means a feeling of tiredness, weakness, or lack of energy. It is often used to describe physical or mental fatigue.

• After running a marathon, she felt a deep lassitude that lasted for days. (Here, lassitude means physical tiredness.)
• The long meeting caused a sense of lassitude among the employees. (Here, it means mental or emotional tiredness.)
• Symptoms of the illness include fever, headache, and lassitude. (Lassitude is used to describe general weakness or fatigue.) A well-known synonym is "fatigue." The difference is that "fatigue" is more common and can be physical or mental tiredness, while "lassitude" often sounds more formal or literary and emphasizes a general weariness or lack of energy.

Substitution

You can replace "lassitude" with:

• fatigue (more common, general tiredness)
• weariness (focuses on being tired or bored)
• exhaustion (stronger, extreme tiredness)
• lethargy (slowness or lack of energy, sometimes medical) Changing the word can make the sentence sound more casual (fatigue) or more serious (exhaustion).

Deconstruction

"Lassitude" comes from Latin "lassitudo," from "lassus," meaning "weary" or "tired."

• Root: "lass-" means tired or weary.
• Suffix: "-itude" is used to form nouns indicating a state or condition. So, "lassitude" literally means the state of being tired or weary.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when you felt lassitude? Was it physical or mental tiredness?
• How would you describe the difference between "lassitude" and "exhaustion" in your own words?
• In what situations might someone use "lassitude" instead of just saying "tired"? Why?