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 Wharton
plural -s
1
archaic
: the act or state of languishing : illness, weakness, sadness, lassitude
2
archaic
: tenderness of look or bearing : amorous pensiveness
Examples of languish in a Sentence
Verb
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
Recent Examples on the Web
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026
Kansas City could move to force a historic downtown building that has languished for years into the hands of a new developer.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026
But only in one of those years did the measure get the needed two-thirds supermajority, so the matter languished.
—Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
But only in one of those years did the measure get the needed two-thirds supermajority, so the matter languished.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for languish
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Verb
Dreams of Violets has no formal distribution; before the film’s Tribeca debut, Ash thought the project would be destined to languish on YouTube.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026
Kansas City could move to force a historic downtown building that has languished for years into the hands of a new developer.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026
But only in one of those years did the measure get the needed two-thirds supermajority, so the matter languished.
—Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
But only in one of those years did the measure get the needed two-thirds supermajority, so the matter languished.
—ABC News, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for languish
Cite this Entry
“Languish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/languish. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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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