- present participle of languish.
languishing
Americanadjective
-
becoming languid, in any way.
-
expressive of languor; indicating tender, sentimental melancholy.
a languishing sigh.
-
lingering.
a languishing death.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of languishing
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at languish, -ing 2
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.
Languishing sales in the 1980s saw a majority stake go to General Motors, which was primarily looking to benefit from Lotus’s profitable engineering-services division, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
Languishing in 16th and on their joint-worst winless run of seven games following a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham, it begs the question just how much worse can things get for United?
From BBC • May 12, 2025
Languishing near the bottom, some perhaps victimized by not screening widely yet: Ridley Scott’s sure-to-make-some-go-gaga “House of Gucci,” Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” and Steven Spielberg’s whether-they-wanted-a-remake-or-not “West Side Story.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2021
Languishing in a dreary job at a London law office, 27-year-old Robert Martineau dreamed of an adventure to banish his boredom and malaise.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2021
Languishing in jail, still wearing his wool suit, Apollinaire was charged with the theft of the Mona Lisa.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
