languish
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
Whether the plant thrives or languishes and dies is heavily dependent on the climate.
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to lose vigor and vitality.
Though she was once full of energy, her illness had caused her to languish.
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to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress.
to languish in prison for ten years.
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to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored.
a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year.
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to pine with desire or longing.
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to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.
noun
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Archaic. the act or state of being neglected, losing vigor, or becoming weak.
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Archaic. a tender, melancholy look or expression.
verb
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to lose or diminish in strength or energy
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(often foll by for) to be listless with desire; pine
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to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglect
to languish in prison
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to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression
Other Word Forms
- languisher noun
- languishing adjective
- languishingly adverb
- languishment noun
Etymology
Origin of languish
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Middle French languiss-, long stem of languir, from Latin languēre “to languish”; akin to laxus lax; -ish 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.
It is a feeling Championship clubs are starting to enjoy after languishing in the vast shadow of the Premier League.
From Barron's
The target seemed wildly bullish at the time with the stock market languishing around the 2,700 level.
From MarketWatch
The school billed itself as the Inland Empire’s Division I home team, but community and donor support languished, and the basketball teams still play in a student-funded gym designed as a student recreation center.
From Los Angeles Times
They are sixth in the away form table, having secured six wins and 21 points on the road, but languish in 14th for home results with only four wins from 14 games.
From BBC
Tortora, meanwhile, languishes in squalid jail cells and a country with only a casual regard for habeas corpus.
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.
