doldrums

noun

1. (plural, plural-only)Usually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of listlessness or malaise.

   “I was in the doldrums yesterday and just didn’t feel inspired.”

   “[T]aken very ill in Cheapside—three pennyworth of brandy, and got home to bed at nine, in the doldrums.”

   “[H]e would sit over the fire with a book in his hand, staring over it into the red glow with his brows knit, and a dogged, almost sullen look about his mouth. [...] One evening about this time Mrs. Gray, who was a woman of determination, and who had a horror of what she called 'the doldrums,' made up her mind that she had had enough of this kind of thing, and must come to the bottom of this affliction, or temper, or money embarrassment of her son's without further delay.”

   “1987 The economic doldrums from oil prices continue to affect the state, causing many to lose their jobs and leave, banks to foreclose on property, and businesses to go bankrupt.”

   “It is typical for adolescents to respond to the doldrums, feeling dead or numb inside, by sleeping a lot, watching hours upon hours of television, holing up in their room for days on end.”

2. (plural, plural-only)Usually preceded by the: the state of a sailing ship when it is impeded by calms or light, baffling winds, and is unable to make progress.

   “[F]rom the bluff-head, where I watched to-day, / I saw her in the doldrums; for the wind / Was light and baffling.”

3. (broadly, plural, plural-only)Usually preceded by the: a part of the ocean near the equator where calms, squalls, and light, baffling winds are common.

   “Hurricanes are known to develop in the belt of doldrums in the southern North Atlantic Ocean and also in the western Caribbean Sea when the Pacific doldrum belt extends into that area. However, many tropical storms of the Gulf, Caribbean, and southern North Atlantic have not with certainty been traced to a place of origin, and it cannot be said with assurance that they do not develop occasionally in other areas.”

   “[...] The High Encounter entered the doldrums near the equator, where the ship ended up in the captain's effort to avoid the British. Without wind to move the ship, The High Encounter waffled in the slow-moving sea.”

4. (form-of, obsolete, plural)plural of doldrum (“slothful or stupid person”)