languish
verb
lan·guish
ˈlaŋ-gwish 
languished; languishing; languishes
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
Edith WhartonExamples of languish in a Sentence
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
Recent Examples on the Web
But other corners of the Argentine economy are languishing, and the president’s party got trounced in local elections earlier this month.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Thirtysomething is still languishing in streaming purgatory, with the show only available to watch on DVD.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
The leader of a program pairing low-income criminal defendants with free attorneys is out of her job, after a shortage of lawyers in Alameda County delayed prosecutions and left defendants languishing for weeks at the Santa Rita Jail.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Julia, getting exasperated, asks if Adriana has checked in on her children, which is probably a much bigger thing than Adriana’s languishing music career.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
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Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Thirtysomething is still languishing in streaming purgatory, with the show only available to watch on DVD.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
The leader of a program pairing low-income criminal defendants with free attorneys is out of her job, after a shortage of lawyers in Alameda County delayed prosecutions and left defendants languishing for weeks at the Santa Rita Jail.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Julia, getting exasperated, asks if Adriana has checked in on her children, which is probably a much bigger thing than Adriana’s languishing music career.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for languish
Cite this Entry
“Languish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/languish. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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