Victoria Sheinkin
Definition: a trancelike state of consciousness marked by of voluntary motion in which one’s limbs remain in whatever position they are placed.
Pronunciation: cat-a-LEP-sy
Origin
The Greek prefix kata represents the adverb ‘down’, while katalepsis represents a seizure.
Why this word?
On too many occasions in life, we are too shocked, too sad, too happy or too [any other profound emotion] to be able to move. This noun, catalepsy, represents this state exactly. When coming to think about it, we experience it more than we know. Catalepsy may stand its ground even for a tiny millisecond, that exact moment we need in order for us to collect ourselves after an overwhelming attack of emotions.
Catalepsy is also a medical term that is related to hypnosis or shock.
How to use catalepsy in a sentence?
Catalepsy is a noun representing a state of mind in which one is simply unable to move.
“She broke his heart; he was catalepsy struck as she told him she was leaving, he remained motionless for the 30 minutes it took me to arrive“.
Catalepsy has a complementing adjective- cataleptic, don’t go mismatching the two:
“Nathan clearly lacks the needed experience. He was almost cataleptic throughout the meeting“.
