languish
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
Whether the plant thrives or languishes and dies is heavily dependent on the climate.
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to lose vigor and vitality.
Though she was once full of energy, her illness had caused her to languish.
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to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress.
to languish in prison for ten years.
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to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored.
a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year.
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to pine with desire or longing.
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to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.
noun
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Archaic. the act or state of being neglected, losing vigor, or becoming weak.
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Archaic. a tender, melancholy look or expression.
verb
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to lose or diminish in strength or energy
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(often foll by for) to be listless with desire; pine
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to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglect
to languish in prison
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to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has languishedperfect 3rd person singular
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have languishedperfect
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are languishingprogressive
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languishingparticiple
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have been languishingperfect progressive
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is languishingprogressive 3rd person singular
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languishessingular 3rd person
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has been languishingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am languishingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had languishedperfect
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languishedparticiple
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was languishingprogressive singular
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languishedsimple
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were languishingprogressive plural
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had been languishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of languish
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Middle French languiss-, long stem of languir, from Latin languēre “to languish”; akin to laxus lax; see -ish 2
Explanation
To languish is to become pitiful or weak because you're sick, in love, or stuck somewhere. A prisoner might languish in jail, longing for her freedom. Languish, like languid, is from the Latin word languere which means "to be weak or faint." Your houseplants might languish in a dark dry corner. A Romantic poet might languish on a velvet couch with the back of her hand to her forehead. People in operas love to languish: The main character in La Traviata, Violetta, languishes from longing and eventually tuberculosis.
Vocabulary lists containing languish
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Refugee
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
New to Seattle Shakes is Alexandria Henderson, who stars as Lydia Languish, the heiress whose romance — surprise — isn’t quite what it seems.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2020
Tennant played Jack Absolute in this classic comedy of errors from 1775 set in five acts and telling the story of the romantic difficulties of Lydia Languish.
From BBC • Sep. 1, 2019
Captain Jack, as everyone well-versed in English drama knows, conducts his courtship of Miss Lydia Languish under an assumed name, because she is so rich herself that she fancies a penurious lover.
From Time Magazine Archive
Reality is dead, Deep-buried in her grave, and Heaven and Earth, Swayed by the wand of sweet Imagination, Languish beneath the velvet robes of Night.
From Virginia, A Tragedy And Other Poems by Gilmore, Marion Forster
The tales which took the fancy of the Honourable Miss Languish, and which were echoed from the mouth and mind of Miss Squeamish were those of 'high romance,' as it is termed.
From Forgotten Tales of Long Ago by Bedford, F. D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
