languish

verb

lan·​guish ˈlaŋ-gwish 

languished; languishing; languishes

intransitive verb

1

a

: to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated

Plants languish in the drought.

b

: to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality

languished in prison for ten years

2

a

: to become dispirited

b

: to suffer neglect

the bill languished in the Senate for eight months

3

: to assume an expression of grief or emotion appealing for sympathy

languished at him through screwed-up eyes

—Edith Wharton

languisher noun

languishingly

ˈlaŋ-gwi-shiŋ-lē 

adverb

languishment

ˈlaŋ-gwish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• decay
• droop
• emaciate
• fade
• fail
• flag
• go
• lag
• sag
• sink
• waste (away)
• weaken
• wilt
• wither

Examples of languish in a Sentence

older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave

Recent Examples on the Web

In November, the shares were languishing at a low for the year at around €82, a 45% drop from a high in April of €151. —Neil Winton, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024

Amid the cacophony of activity, a quiet family of three from Ecuador has languished there since March, inside a spartan cubicle. —Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Meanwhile the naira currency languishes at record lows against the dollar. —Chinedu Asadu, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024

For years, the filmography of Meyer has languished in a liminal space between lost and found — Gregory described it as being out of circulation. —Rich Juzwiak, IndieWire, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French languiss-, stem of languir, from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languēre

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

languish

verb

lan·​guish ˈlaŋ-gwish 

1

: to become weak or languid : waste away

languish in prison

2

: to suffer neglect

a bill languishing in the Senate

languishment

-mənt 

noun