Someone who is in a coma is in a state of deep unconsciousness.
She was in a coma for seven weeks.
She had slipped into a coma by the time she reached hospital.
Synonyms: unconsciousness, trance, oblivion, lethargy More Synonyms of coma
coma in British English1
(ˈkəʊmə)
nounWord forms: plural-mas
a state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused, caused by injury to the head, rupture of cerebral blood vessels, narcotics, poisons, etc
Word origin
C17: from medical Latin, from Greek kōma heavy sleep; related to Greek koitē bed, perhaps to Middle Irish cuma grief
coma in British English2
(ˈkəʊmə)
nounWord forms: plural-mae (-miː)
1. astronomy
the luminous cloud surrounding the frozen solid nucleus in the head of a comet, formed by vaporization of part of the nucleus when the comet is close to the sun
2. botany
a.
a tuft of hairs attached to the seed coat of some seeds
b.
the terminal crown of leaves of palms and moss stems
3. optics
a type of lens defect characterized by the formation of a diffuse pear-shaped image from a point object
Derived forms
comal (ˈcomal)
adjective
Word origin
C17: from Latin: hair of the head, from Greek komē
coma in American English1
(ˈkoʊmə)
noun
1.
deep, prolonged unconsciousness caused by injury or disease
2.
a condition of stupor or lethargy
Word origin
ModL < Gr kōma (gen. kōmatos), deep sleep < IE base *keme-, to grow tired > Sans śamītē, to work, prepare, Gr kamatos, fatigue, effort
coma in American English2
(ˈkoʊmə)
nounWord forms: pluralˈcomae (ˈkoʊmi)
1. Astronomy
a comet's gaseous cloud surrounding the solid nucleus and forming, with the nucleus, the comet's head
2.
a.
a bunch of branches, as on the top of some palm trees
b.
a terminal cluster of bracts on a flowering stem, as in pineapples
c.
a tuft of hairs at the end of certain seeds
3. Photography
a blur caused by the spherical aberration of oblique rays of light passing through a lens
Word origin
L, hair of the head, foliage < Gr komē, hair
Examples of 'coma' in a sentence
coma
He underwent five hours of emergency brain surgery and was in a coma for two weeks.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Last night at least one victim was in a coma in hospital.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
He was dramatically airlifted to hospital and placed in an induced coma.
The Sun (2016)
He was taken to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma owing to a bleed on his skull.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She was placed in an induced coma and had part of her skull removed as doctors fought to save her life.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
She suffered a fractured skull and collapsed lung, and was in a coma for two months.
The Sun (2016)
He was placed in a medically induced coma but died in hospital on Tuesday.
The Sun (2016)
He came out of a medically induced coma after nine days but bitter recriminations remain over whether the fight should have been stopped earlier.
The Sun (2016)
I was put in an induced coma and my parents were told to expect the worst.
The Sun (2016)
Hit in the chest, liver and bowel, he spent a month in a coma.
The Sun (2016)
She was in an induced coma for two weeks.
The Sun (2012)
He was in a coma for three months.
The Sun (2010)
They put him in an induced coma after the surgery.
The Sun (2012)
Nurses battled to save him from a coma three times.
The Sun (2011)
She was in a coma for two weeks after surgery.
The Sun (2016)
But he lapsed into a coma and hospital tests showed he had blood cancer.
The Sun (2007)
He was in a coma for a month before he died.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Last night he was in a medically induced coma.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She lay in a coma for a week and died.
Christianity Today (2000)
He spent four months in a coma and doctors said he was unlikely to walk again.
The Sun (2011)
He was put in an induced coma but is now breathing by himself.
The Sun (2012)
He was put on a life support machine and was in a coma for a week.
The Sun (2011)
He was put in an induced coma after surgery for serious head injuries.
The Sun (2012)
He spent a week in a coma as his organs shut down.
The Sun (2014)
She is in hospital in a coma and is likely to remain so for a very long time.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He was taken to an intensive care unit in a deep coma and put on a life support machine.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Three women visit an old friend from school who is in a coma in hospital after a car accident.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Another good time for a coma: right after getting dumped.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Inflation has taken more than a breather; throughout this year it has been in a deep coma.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He's sleeping, eating and trying to induce a mild coma to get time to pass faster.
The Sun (2015)
He had been in a deep coma for the past few days. Now finally he was out of pain.
Jan Fennell FRIENDS FOR LIFE (2003)
The patient has been in a coma for some time, but now they're switching off the machines.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In its most extreme form, winter is passed in a deep metabolic coma, awakened only by the returning warmth of spring.
Mumby, Keith The Allergy Handbook (1988)
In other languages
coma
British English: coma /ˈkəʊmə/ NOUN
If someone is in a coma, they are deeply unconscious.
She was in a coma for seven weeks.
American English: coma
Arabic: غَيْبُوبَة
Brazilian Portuguese: coma
Chinese: 昏迷
Croatian: koma
Czech: kóma
Danish: koma
Dutch: coma
European Spanish: coma estado
Finnish: kooma
French: coma
German: Koma
Greek: κώμα
Italian: coma
Japanese: 昏睡
Korean: 혼수 혼수상태
Norwegian: koma
Polish: śpiączka
European Portuguese: coma
Romanian: comă
Russian: кома
Latin American Spanish: coma Estado patológico
Swedish: koma
Thai: สภาพไม่รู้สึกตัวของผู้ป่วย
Turkish: koma
Ukrainian: кома
Vietnamese: trạng thái hôn mê
Chinese translation of 'coma'
coma
(ˈkəumə) (Med)
n(c/u)
昏迷 (hūnmí)
to be in a coma处(處)于(於)昏迷状(狀)态(態) (chǔyú hūnmí zhuàngtài)
(noun)
Definition
a state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused, caused by injury, disease, or drugs
She had slipped into a coma by the time she reached the hospital.
Synonyms
unconsciousness
He knew that he might soon lapse into unconsciousness.
trance
Like a man in a trance, he made his way back to the rooms.
oblivion
He drank himself into oblivion.
lethargy
Symptoms include tiredness, paleness and lethargy.
stupor
He was drinking himself into a stupor every night.
torpor
The sick person gradually falls into a torpor.
somnolence
insensibility
Additional synonyms
in the sense of insensibility
Synonyms
unconsciousness,
numbness,
inertness
in the sense of lethargy
Definition
an abnormal lack of energy
Symptoms include tiredness, paleness and lethargy.