languid
[lang-gwid]
- lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow: a languid manner.
- lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent.
- drooping or flagging from weakness or fatigue; faint.
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Origin of languid
Synonyms
See more synonyms for languid on Thesaurus.com1. inactive, inert, sluggish, torpid. 2. spiritless. 3. weak, feeble, weary, exhausted, debilitated.
Antonyms
1. active, energetic. 3. vigorous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for languid
Contemporary Examples
All night long they struggle; nobody knows the name of the harsh light that keeps slowly opening like a languid fruit.
In or out of uniform his motion is languid, his voice relaxed and mellifluous, his movements deliberate, confident.
He was more finely bred than any American she had met, with his bone-china accent, willowy height and languid wit.
Though his motion was languid, the ball seemed to explode off his fingertips, to gather speed as it crossed the diamond.
By that he means, and I soon discovered, that the pacing is languid and perfectly in keeping with real police procedure.
Historical Examples
Her applause was not languid applause, neither was it without discrimination.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
Mrs. Beaufort, languid and afflicted with headache, said little.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
But this languid century was to close with a tremendous explosion.
She lifted a deep, languid glance upon me and shook her head.
A Hero of Our TimeM. Y. Lermontov
With a languid movement she eked out the thought that was in her.
languid
- without energy or spirit
- without interest or enthusiasm
- sluggish; inactive
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin languidus, from languēre to languish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for languid
adj.
1590s, from Middle French languide (16c.) and directly from Latin languidus "faint, listless," from languere "be weak or faint," from PIE root *(s)leg- "to be slack" (see lax). Related: Languidly; languidness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper