languish

[ lang-gwish ]
See synonyms for languish on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade: Whether the plant thrives or languishes and dies is heavily dependent on the climate.

  2. to lose vigor and vitality: Though she was once full of energy, her illness had caused her to languish.

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

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

  3. to pine with desire or longing.

  4. to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.

noun
  1. Archaic. the act or state of being neglected, losing vigor, or becoming weak.

  2. Archaic. a tender, melancholy look or expression.

Origin of languish

1
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 -ish2

Other words from languish

  • lan·guish·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use languish in a sentence

  • The public ear has become dainty, fastidious, hypercritical; hence the Ballad-Singer languishes and dies.

  • He languishes in an unchanging environment and finds monotony almost unbearable.

    How to Analyze People on Sight | Elsie Lincoln Benedict and Ralph Paine Benedict
  • It is the Osseous or one who is largely of this type who languishes in prison through long years, refusing to retract.

    How to Analyze People on Sight | Elsie Lincoln Benedict and Ralph Paine Benedict
  • Ah, how desolate sounds the drip, drip of a ceaseless rain, when conversation languishes and the ear has time to listen!

    The Sword of Damocles | Anna Katharine Green
  • This obstinacy in right proportion constitutes will, and without will life languishes and projects die a-borning.

British Dictionary definitions for languish

languish

/ (ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ) /


verb(intr)
  1. to lose or diminish in strength or energy

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

  1. to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglect: to languish in prison

  2. to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression

Origin of languish

1
C14 languishen, from Old French languiss-, stem of languir, ultimately from Latin languēre

Derived forms of languish

  • languishing, adjective
  • languishingly, adverb
  • languishment, noun

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