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
Many other prominent dissidents still languish in Belarusian jails, among them Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, a human rights advocate serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges widely denounced as politically motivated.
—Yuras Karmanau, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2025
Faster Path Not Easiest These are lofty and complex goals, considering the spending bill is still languishing in Congress and is a time sensitive priority.
—Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Consumer sentiment has languished in the wake of Trump’s trade war.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 18 June 2025
Morrell, the city council member, said former jail employees told him there were thousands of languishing work orders and that jail keys weren’t always collected from former employees.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 17 June 2025
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Yuras Karmanau, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2025
Faster Path Not Easiest These are lofty and complex goals, considering the spending bill is still languishing in Congress and is a time sensitive priority.
—Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
Consumer sentiment has languished in the wake of Trump’s trade war.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 18 June 2025
Morrell, the city council member, said former jail employees told him there were thousands of languishing work orders and that jail keys weren’t always collected from former employees.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 17 June 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 3 Jul. 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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