ENGLISH
REFERENCE

comatose

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈkoʊməˌtoʊs// UK //kˈəʊmɐtˌəʊz// co·matose Archaic Dialect Informal

adj. in a deep sleep that you cannot wake up from. Doctors use this to describe someone who is unconscious and does not respond to anything.

adj. in a state of deep unconsciousness from which a person cannot be roused. Often used in medical contexts to describe a patient's level of consciousness.


SIMPLE

The patient remained comatose for several weeks after the accident.

CONTEXTUAL

After the severe head injury, the athlete was comatose for three days while the medical team monitored his brain activity.

COMPLEX

The patient's family gathered in the waiting room as the neurologist explained that the patient was comatose but showing signs of brainstem activity that suggested a potential for recovery.

Origin

* perhaps from French comateux * From Ancient Greek κῶμα (kôma, “deep sleep”) (genitive κώματος (kṓmatos)). Equivalent to coma + -ose (“full of”)

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