Stupors can be brought on by drugs, alcohol, illness, or shocking news. You might doze off with a lampshade on your head if you’re in a drunken stupor. Medically speaking, a person in this state responds only to pain. You can also be in a stupor if you’re in shock, like if your boss says he's replacing you with a robot, or if Mister Ed the talking horse kicks you in the gut. Like stupid, it comes from the Latin word stupere that means basically “to be stunned.”