languish
Americanverb (used without object)
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languishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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languished,
past participle, past
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languishing
present participle
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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languishsimple
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languishessimple
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have languishedperfect
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has languishedperfect
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am languishingprogressive
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are languishingprogressive
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is languishingprogressive
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have been languishingperfect progressive
-
has been languishingperfect progressive
Past
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languishedsimple
-
had languishedperfect
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was languishingprogressive
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were languishingprogressive
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had been languishingperfect progressive
Future
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; see -ish 2
Explanation
To languish is to become pitiful or weak because you're sick, in love, or stuck somewhere. A prisoner might languish in jail, longing for her freedom. Languish, like languid, is from the Latin word languere which means "to be weak or faint." Your houseplants might languish in a dark dry corner. A Romantic poet might languish on a velvet couch with the back of her hand to her forehead. People in operas love to languish: The main character in La Traviata, Violetta, languishes from longing and eventually tuberculosis.
Vocabulary lists containing languish
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Refugee
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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.
See Examples For:
He also says that, while IBM itself prepurchased $600 million in hardware to get ahead of price increases, it isn’t financially prudent for companies to continue buying hardware, only to have it languish in inventory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Burke was only arrested three months ago, and murder cases often languish in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Places like Wigan - in Greater Manchester, Burnham's stronghold - often languish next to the bigger cities in whose shadow they sit.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
It’s not all doom and gloom in the software sector, as some high-profile stocks have posted standout gains this year while their peers languish.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
“That they may not languish in unavailing grief,” he said in a slightly amplified voice, “nor sorrow as those who have no hope, but through their tears look always up to Thee....”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
As a slideshow prepared by an executive explained, “We thrive in the valley of death,” the term for the bureaucratic gap where research languishes without being developed into a product.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Official readouts and state media reports have not said whether Xi and Kim discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons development, for which Pyongyang languishes under international sanctions.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
Tortora, meanwhile, languishes in squalid jail cells and a country with only a casual regard for habeas corpus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Jenner is likely taking a significant financial hit on the property as it languishes on the market.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
Only a man who languishes for a friend exactly as for a loved woman-deserves either.
From Hesperus or Forty-Five Dog-Post-Days Vol. I. A Biography by Jean Paul
Yet meaningful, comprehensive control of AI both on the battlefield and off has languished, largely because trust between governments and understanding of the technology and its risks is lacking, Russell said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
In return, he left us a sublime body of work, one that languished in astonishing critical neglect until the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, the result of a dwindling taste for monastic and devotional art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He languished with Memphis and Washington after consistently contributing to playoff runs with Boston.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
And yet, oil has languished below $100 a barrel for over three weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Now it languished on a high shelf, under a box full of cash register tapes.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
The club he loves are languishing in the third division of Spanish football - and one thing is on his mind.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
A “negative output gap, a languishing labor market, soft real income growth and unambiguously restrictive monetary policy should alleviate concerns around sticky underlying inflation in the U.K.,” von Ahlen argues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Kent debuted on the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America Hall of Fame ballot five years later, languishing there for 10 consecutive seasons without coming close to the 75% threshold necessary to be elected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
IBM IBM 0.43%increase; up pointing triangle stock has been languishing since July 14, when it pre-announced disappointing earnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“No, Colonel,” Milo said, with a long, languishing, wistful sigh, “it isn’t very good. Although it’s very generous of you to say so.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
