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

While downtown Los Angeles is languishing, Burbank is booming. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026

For 78 years, the boys’ story—and hundreds of others like it—had languished in storage. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Aug. 2026

After languishing on the market for more than two years, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley has finally offloaded his bluff-top residence in Malibu‘s exclusive Paradise Cove enclave. — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2026

Many sloths intended for display at the International Drive attraction languished and died by early this year in small cages inside an unheated warehouse. — Rylan Digiacomo-Rapp, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 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