languid
Americanadjective
-
lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow.
a languid manner.
-
lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent.
- Synonyms:
- spiritless
-
drooping or flagging from weakness or fatigue; faint.
- Antonyms:
- vigorous
adjective
-
without energy or spirit
-
without interest or enthusiasm
-
sluggish; inactive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of languid
First recorded in 1590–1600, languid is from the Latin word languidus “faint”; see languish, -id 4
Explanation
Describe a slow-moving river or a weak breeze or a listless manner with the slightly poetic adjective, languid. Languid comes from the Latin verb, languere, "to be weak or faint" and is a somewhat literary word for something that doesn't use much energy. If someone says goodbye to you with a languid wave of the hand, there's not too much movement involved. You can describe yourself as languid when you have that feeling of not being entirely awake — kind of lazy in the mind.
Vocabulary lists containing languid
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Grade 10, List 6
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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.
Summer was made for slow, languid days and stories that linger long after the final page.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Dave Shaw, 37, of Dave’s Walks has silently led me on languid explorations of the United Kingdom; across the cobblestone causeway to Cornwall’s St. Michael’s Mount, and along the clifftops of North Devon.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
They later reconnected and launched their company in 2019, with one goal: Help kick-start languid geothermal exploration.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026
Wharton's loping, languid style may sometimes disguise a classy, fiercely competitive midfielder, but his England breakthrough has not arrived, despite going to Germany as part of Southgate's Euro 2024 squad.
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025
“I must have asked Miss Fairfax, and her languid dancing would not have agreed with me, after yours.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
