languish

verb

lan·​guish ˈlaŋ-gwish 

languished; languishing; languishes

intransitive verb

1

a

: to be or become feeble, weak, or enervated

Plants languish in the drought.

b

: to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality

languished in prison for ten years

2

a

: to become dispirited

b

: to suffer neglect

the bill languished in the Senate for eight months

3

: to assume an expression of grief or emotion appealing for sympathy

… languished at him through screwed-up eyes.

—Edith Wharton

languisher noun

languishingly

ˈlaŋ-gwi-shiŋ-lē 

adverb

languishment

ˈlaŋ-gwish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms of languish

• fade
• weaken
• go
• sag
• fail
• sink
• wither

Examples of languish in a Sentence

older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave

Recent Examples on the Web

The new money does not benefit the thousands of eligible, low-income families who continue to languish on waitlists for the vouchers due to insufficient funding. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026

However, Nike still languished as Hill's efforts to turn the company around were taking much longer than expected. — Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026

Aside from the fact that my once-routine requests now languish for months, just asking for documents has become its own kind of shell game. — Al Shaw, ProPublica, 11 Aug. 2026

Willis wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, languished on the bench two seasons at Auburn (14 total pass attempts), then transferred to finish college for the lower-tier Liberty Flames. — Miami Herald, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French languiss-, stem of languir, from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languēre

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for languish

• anguish

Kids Definition

languish

verb

lan·​guish ˈlaŋ-gwish 

1

: to become weak or languid : waste away

languish in prison

2

: to suffer neglect

a bill languishing in the Senate

languishment

-mənt 

noun