ScienceAugust 28, 2026

anthropause

AN-throh-pawz

Definition

A temporary, significant reduction in human activity and movement, specifically referring to the period during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Etymology

The word is a portmanteau created by combining the Greek prefix 'anthropo-' (relating to humans) and the English noun 'pause', coined to describe the environmental impact of the global pandemic slowdown.

In the news

The article uses this term to describe the rare, global behavioral experiment that occurred when pandemic restrictions limited human movement, allowing researchers to isolate how animals respond to human presence versus physical landscape changes.

Research Reveals Human Impact on 4,500 Tracked Animals

Read the full article ↗

Mirage News

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