comatose

IPA/ˈkəʊmətəʊs/
KK[kˈomətˌos]IPA/ˈkəʊmətəʊs/

comatose — adjective

  • comatosepositive
  • more comatosecomparative
  • most comatosesuperlative

1. being in a coma and unable to wake up or react to voices, touch, or pain

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

being in a coma and unable to wake up or react to voices, touch, or pain

Example

After the fall, Nora lay comatose in the hospital bed for two days.

pattern: lie/remain + comatose

Doctors kept Liang comatose while they treated the swelling in his brain.

Common collocations
  • remain comatose
  • lie comatose
  • leave someone comatose
  • still comatose
Synonyms
  • unconscious

    broader and not always as prolonged as a coma

  • unresponsive

    medical focus on not reacting to stimuli

  • insensible

    formal or literary, not common in everyday speech

Antonyms
  • conscious

    awake and able to notice what is around you

  • responsive

    able to react to voices, touch, or pain

  • alert

    fully awake and attentive

Grammar Patterns

be/remain comatose

lie comatose

leave somebody comatose

Usage Note

Mostly medical and usually used after verbs like be, remain, lie, or leave. Distinguish from sense 2, which is an informal exaggeration about extreme tiredness rather than a real coma.

Common Mistakes

The baby was comatose during his nap.
The baby was asleep during his nap.
For normal sleep, use 'asleep'; 'comatose' suggests a real coma or an extreme figurative comparison.

2. so exhausted or drunk that you can hardly think and may fall into a very deep sl

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

so exhausted or drunk that you can hardly think and may fall into a very deep sleep

Example

After three night shifts, Eshe felt comatose on the bus home.

feel + comatose after extreme tiredness

By the end of finals week, Joshua looked comatose at breakfast.

Common collocations
  • feel comatose
  • look comatose
  • comatose on the couch
  • comatose after a night shift
Synonyms
  • exhausted

    broader and less dramatic than comatose

  • wiped out

    informal and common for being extremely tired

  • dead tired

    informal and strong, but less focused on deep sleep

  • half-asleep

    weaker, stressing drowsiness rather than total exhaustion

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

feel comatose after + activity

look comatose

be comatose after drinking

Usage Note

This sense is informal and often exaggerated in speech. Use it for extreme tiredness or too much alcohol, not for an actual medical coma.

Common Mistakes

I felt comatose after lunch.
I felt sleepy after lunch.
This figurative sense is only for very extreme tiredness or drink, not mild sleepiness.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Comatose, unconscious, unresponsive, passed out, and knocked out can all describe someone who is not reacting normally, but they are not interchangeable. Comatose is the most medical and usually suggests a deep, continuing coma. Unconscious is broader and can describe anything from fainting to a serious injury. Unresponsive focuses on the lack of reaction, without always saying why. Passed out is informal and often suggests fainting, heat, or alcohol. Knocked out is informal and usually points to a blow or sudden impact. For example, a patient may remain comatose for days, a runner may pass out in the heat, and a boxer may be knocked out by one punch.

unconscious ↗unresponsive ↗passed out ↗knocked out

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Etymology

GreekMedical LatinEnglish

Comatose comes from coma, a medical word that ultimately goes back to Greek koma, meaning deep sleep. English took the adjective through medical Latin forms used for coma-like conditions, and the core idea has stayed the same: someone appears to be in a state like deep, unnatural sleep. The later figurative use keeps that image to describe extreme exhaustion.