languish

verb

lan·guish | \ ˈlaŋ-gwish

languished; languishing; languishes

Definition of languish

intransitive verb

1a : 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

2a : 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

Other Words from languish Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about languish

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Other Words from languish

languisher noun

languishingly \ ˈlaŋ-gwi-shiŋ-lē

\ adverb

languishment \ ˈlaŋ-gwish-mənt

\ noun

Examples of languish in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

This attention to detail, keeping the French Quarter trapped in a calcified past, requires money and wherewithal, of course, that other parts of the city, languishing and decaying, do not have. — Sarah M. Broom, The New Yorker, "Who Stays Gone, and Who Can Afford to Return," 12 Aug. 2019 The thought of this Astros lineup languishing or struggling seemed silly. — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros edge Orioles for 7th straight win," 9 Aug. 2019 The industry’s share prices languish a fifth below their level a year ago (see chart). — The Economist, "American steel tariffs cut both ways for domestic producers," 8 Aug. 2019 The film, which languished in development hell for years due to Scorsese’s ambitions to de-age his stars up to 30 years through CGI. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, "The 32 Most Anticipated Movies of Fall 2019," 7 Aug. 2019 The Legislature has embraced some animal welfare legislation in recent years, but other bills have languished, MacFall said. — Skyler Swisher, sun-sentinel.com, "Declawing your destructive cat may be outlawed in Florida," 2 Aug. 2019 Western governors not getting traction Hickenlooper does not bear sole responsibility for his languishing campaign. — Nic Garcia, The Denver Post, "John Hickenlooper’s presidential campaign is on pundits’ death watch," 1 Aug. 2019 While the original cast expressed enthusiasm for a sequel in the wake of Zombieland's success, their enthusiasm waned as the project languished for several years. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Zombies have evolved to be harder to kill in Zombieland 2: Double Tap trailer," 25 July 2019 Adele Morgan On Monday, fresh data showed that a measure of U.S. home-builder confidence slipped in June, a sign of languishing sentiment in an important sector of the economy. — Gunjan Banerji, WSJ, "U.S. Stocks Climb Ahead of Central-Bank Meetings," 17 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'languish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.