Synonym Game

languish

[lang-gwish] Origin

lan·guish

[lang-gwish]
verb (used without object)
1.
to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
2.
to lose vigor and vitality.
3.
to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress: to languish in prison for ten years.
4.
to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored: a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year.
5.
to pine with desire or longing.
EXPAND
6.
to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.
COLLAPSE
noun
7.
the act or state of languishing.
8.
a tender, melancholy look or expression.

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Languish is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French languiss-, long stem of languirLatin languēre to languish; akin to laxus lax; see -ish2

lan·guish·er, noun
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary
languish (ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ)
 
vb
1.  to lose or diminish in strength or energy
2.  (often foll by for) to be listless with desire; pine
3.  to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglect: to languish in prison
4.  to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression
 
[C14 languishen, from Old French languiss-, stem of languir, ultimately from Latin languēre]
 
'languishing
 
adj
 
'languishingly
 
adv
 
'languishment
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

languish
c.1300, from languiss-, pp. stem of O.Fr. languir "be listless," from V.L. *languire, from L. languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Related: Languished; languishing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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