as in to fade
to lose bodily strength or vigor
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
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Recent Examples of languish
The very mention of a ‘Big Six’ can raise the hackles of supporters of the other 14 clubs, particularly after a season in which Newcastle, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest came fifth, sixth and seventh while Manchester United languished in 15th and Tottenham Hotspur 17th.
—
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Rate-cut expectations and worries over the Fed’s independence have weighed on the US dollar, which is languishing near a more than one-month low against its rivals, making gold less expensive for overseas buyers.
—CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Yet its studio unceremoniously dumped it and never released it on DVD or Blu-ray, leaving it to languish in obscurity for decades.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Multiple lawsuits were filed in 2020 that accused the city of being slow in releasing records, and thousands of requests — mostly to the police department — have languished in an online portal.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for languish
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Rate-cut expectations and worries over the Fed’s independence have weighed on the US dollar, which is languishing near a more than one-month low against its rivals, making gold less expensive for overseas buyers.
—CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Yet its studio unceremoniously dumped it and never released it on DVD or Blu-ray, leaving it to languish in obscurity for decades.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
Multiple lawsuits were filed in 2020 that accused the city of being slow in releasing records, and thousands of requests — mostly to the police department — have languished in an online portal.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for languish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languish
Verb
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After a pause, the composition takes on a searching quality, as the melody travels from one instrument to the next, including a compelling viola solo performed by principal viola Maiya Papach, eventually fading out to nothing, leaving the audience suspended in uneasy quiet.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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The long-standing expectation was that these resonance signals would fade and become negligible as the momentum transfer increased.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While the most obvious advice is to not drive through deep floods, people want to get to their destinations and often go right into the asphalt swamp.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, on The Bold and the Beautiful, Ridge has had his own will-they-won't-they situation going with Rebecca Budig's Taylor Hayes.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Cracker Barrel was looking to draw new customers, especially younger ones, after years of sagging sales.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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Policymakers are widely expected to lower their benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point next week to prop up the sagging job market.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Likely to have less impact on your buying decision (but still reside in the back of your mind) is that if one of the triple-panel fans fails, the entire triple-fan unit needs replacing, not just one fan.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
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The new glue has impressive properties, including its ability to withstand significant forces before failing.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Nate Bargatze’s running total for the Boys & Girls Clubs started at $100,000 and sank embarrassingly into negative territory as winners ran long.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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The big blue gum out front clawed at the darkness, the hillside in back sank into a void of shadow, and the sky grinned its canescent grin.—
T. Coraghessan Boyle,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some leaves wither brown, some keep green.—
Jane Hirshfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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If they are left to wither, leaders have to ask what steps are missing.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Languish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languish. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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