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having catatonia, a syndrome characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor:
The schizophrenic remained in a catatonic state.
appearing to be in a daze or stupor; unresponsive:
She had the catatonic expression of an avant-garde model.
a person who suffers from catatonia.
Contemporary Examples

Please, God, let him not say that in yet another address to a catatonic nation.
Can You Hear Goldman Laughing? Tunku Varadarajan July 15, 2010

During the 10-minute court proceeding, Holmes looked at times like he was in a catatonic state.
Colorado Shooter: Insane or Just Plain Evil? Eliza Shapiro, Christine Pelisek July 24, 2012

catatonic, he crawls on his hands and knees like an infantilized clown back to his white Lamborghini.
Why Leonardo DiCaprio, Who Wows in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ Deserves to (Finally) Win An Oscar Marlow Stern February 16, 2014

I thought about my younger siblings, and how I might have been catatonic if I lost them in the same manner.
A Personal Plea for Gun Control Joshua DuBois April 9, 2013

Historical Examples

Two men with rifles plunged into the gas; sighing, they fell to the floor in a catatonic trance.
The Green Beret Thomas Edward Purdom

But I think he is catatonic now; he has lost all touch with the outside.
The Penal Cluster Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)

June 28, 1911:—He remains in same apparent stuporous and catatonic attitude.
Studies in Forensic Psychiatry Bernard Glueck

You say he was in a state of catatonic shock when they removed him from the machine?
The Dueling Machine Benjamin William Bova

Kutner, in a work on the catatonic states in degenerates, describes this condition at length.
Studies in Forensic Psychiatry Bernard Glueck

An important “catatonic” symptom is a tendency to sudden, impulsive, unexplainable acts.
Benign Stupors August Hoch

adj.

1899, from catatonia + -ic. As a noun from 1902.

jargon
A description of a system that gives no indication that it is still working. This might be because it has crashed without being able to give any error message or because it is busy but not designed to give any feedback.
Compare buzz.
[Jargon File]
(2004-08-19)