languid

[lang-gwid]

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adjective

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.

Nearby words

Origin of languid

First recorded in 1590–1600, languid is from the Latin word languidus faint. See languish, -id⁴

SYNONYMS FOR languid

1. inactive, inert, sluggish, torpid. 2. spiritless. 3. weak, feeble, weary, exhausted, debilitated.

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ANTONYMS FOR languid

1. active, energetic. 3. vigorous.

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Related forms

lan·guid·ly, adverblan·guid·ness, nounun·lan·guid, adjectiveun·lan·guid·ly, adverb

un·lan·guid·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for languid

All night long they struggle; nobody knows the name of the harsh light that keeps slowly opening like a languid fruit.
In Chile, Poetry Outlives the Dictators|Jay Parini|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In or out of uniform his motion is languid, his voice relaxed and mellifluous, his movements deliberate, confident.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was more finely bred than any American she had met, with his bone-china accent, willowy height and languid wit.
Tallulah Bankhead: Gay, Drunk and Liberated in an Era of Excess Art|Judith Mackrell|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though his motion was languid, the ball seemed to explode off his fingertips, to gather speed as it crossed the diamond.
Good Glove, No Hit|David Goodwillie|September 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST

By that he means, and I soon discovered, that the pacing is languid and perfectly in keeping with real police procedure.
The Original Stieg Larsson|Sarah Weinman|July 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I found him in great pain, languid, and terrified with apprehensions of present death.
New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers|Various
And most often whilst society dines or dances and the elect applaud with languid grace the newest play by Mr. Bernard Shaw.
The Heart of a Woman|Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
To wear it makes me languid and frenzied and worn—full of wild goaded saneness and the wish to go violently mad.
I, Mary MacLane|Mary MacLane
The play went on, and Kathleen, rousing with a start out of her languid mood, watched it with eager eyes.
Kathleen's Diamonds|Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller
From one of these a languid, humorous voice that made Arthur start hailed them.
The Seven Darlings|Gouverneur Morris

British Dictionary definitions for languid

languid

adjective

without energy or spirit

without interest or enthusiasm

sluggish; inactive

Derived Formslanguidly, adverblanguidness, noun

Word Origin for languid

C16: from Latin languidus, from languēre to languish

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for languid

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.