languish

[ lang-gwish ]

/ ˈlæŋ gwɪʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR languish ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.

to lose vigor and vitality.

to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress: to languish in prison for ten years.

to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored: a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year.

to pine with desire or longing.

to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.

noun

the act or state of languishing.

a tender, melancholy look or expression.

Nearby words

languedoc, languedoc-roussillon, languet, languette, languid, languish, languishing, languishment, languor, languorous, languorously

Origin of languish

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French languiss-, long stem of languir ≪ Latin languēre to languish; akin to laxus lax; see -ish²

Related formslan·guish·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for languish

Common sense, uncontroversial ideas tend to languish when attention has moved elsewhere.
Dear GOP: Fix the Damn Justice System!|Jonathan Alter|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some of the authors most revered by their contemporaries now languish in relative obscurity.
The Birth of the Novel|Nick Romeo|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Critical journalists continue to languish in prison and inside the courtrooms the breadth of the clampdown is on full display.
Egypt Prepares to Anoint a Dictator and Call it an Election|Jesse Rosenfeld|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They see people just like them being elevated quickly to power while they languish, and they become envious.
What’s At Stake In The Tocqueville/Piketty Debate|James Poulos|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They will be abandoned to languish and rot in “gulags” in Russia.
Russia’s Adoption Ban Is Cruel and Vindictive to All|Dr. Jane Aronson|December 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But many of our men are weary and worn, and languish for repose.
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital|John Beauchamp Jones
When taken to warm climates, they languish, and soon die of disease of the liver.
The Plant Hunters|Mayne Reid
Unless the latter function is provided for, the aerial portions of the plant will languish from want of food to assimilate.
A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments|Henry Negretti
No, Plautus did not allow his public to languish for want of noise.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus|Wilton Wallace Blancke
Hubert must not be permitted to languish a day longer in prison than we can help.
The Cruise of the Nonsuch Buccaneer|Harry Collingwood

British Dictionary definitions for languish

languish

/ (ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ) /

verb (intr)

to lose or diminish in strength or energy

(often foll by for) to be listless with desire; pine

to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglectto languish in prison

to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression

Derived Formslanguishing, adjectivelanguishingly, adverblanguishment, noun

Word Origin for languish

C14 languishen, from Old French languiss-, stem of languir, ultimately from Latin languēre

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 languish

languish

early 14c., "fail in strength, exhibit signs of approaching death," from languiss-, present participle stem of Old French languir "be listless, pine, grieve, fall ill," from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Weaker sense "be lovesick, grieve, lament, grow faint," is from mid-14c. Related: Languished; languishing.

languish

.css-1gxch3{color:#1a1a1a;font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;}verb (used without object)

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of languish

Examples from the Web for languish

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} languish

languish

Word Origin for languish

Word Origin and History for languish

languish

verb (used without object)

British Dictionary definitions for languish