as in faded
to lose bodily strength or vigor
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
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Recent Examples of languished
The House's effort to circumvent leadership on support for Ukraine comes as bipartisan legislation in the Senate to impose new economic sanctions on Russia has languished for more than a year, with senators waiting for a green light from the White House.
—
Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 5 June 2026
The election bill has languished in the Senate for months, after the House passed a version in February on a near party-line vote.
—Miles Parks, NPR, 4 June 2026
Opponents counter contribution Peverill Squire, a retired University of Missouri political scientist, said there have been numerous attempts to increase transparency in how money flows into state campaigns, but those efforts have largely languished.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2026
Over most of the past 27 years, Dolan has been directly responsible for many bad trades, the hiring of incompetent front office personnel and even the expulsion from Madison Square Garden of fan favorite Charles Oakley, all while the team languished near the bottom of the standings year after year.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
The old way of doing business resulted in low satisfaction scores across agencies and in security flaws as old infrastructure languished, Edinger said.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 27 May 2026
Manchester United shares languished at $13 and below its 2012 IPO price but more than doubled on hopes of a sale when the Glazers hired Raine Group to explore their options in late 2022.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 May 2026
Nevada City, Montana Nevada City could have just been another gold-mining town that languished in the annals of history.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 May 2026
The site of a skeletal office tower that has languished for years at the corner of 14th and Peachtree streets and labeled by neighbors as an eyesore has been deemed unsafe by the city of Atlanta.
—Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 20 May 2026
Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 5 June 2026
The election bill has languished in the Senate for months, after the House passed a version in February on a near party-line vote.
—Miles Parks, NPR, 4 June 2026
Opponents counter contribution Peverill Squire, a retired University of Missouri political scientist, said there have been numerous attempts to increase transparency in how money flows into state campaigns, but those efforts have largely languished.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 June 2026
Over most of the past 27 years, Dolan has been directly responsible for many bad trades, the hiring of incompetent front office personnel and even the expulsion from Madison Square Garden of fan favorite Charles Oakley, all while the team languished near the bottom of the standings year after year.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
The old way of doing business resulted in low satisfaction scores across agencies and in security flaws as old infrastructure languished, Edinger said.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 27 May 2026
Manchester United shares languished at $13 and below its 2012 IPO price but more than doubled on hopes of a sale when the Glazers hired Raine Group to explore their options in late 2022.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 26 May 2026
Nevada City, Montana Nevada City could have just been another gold-mining town that languished in the annals of history.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 May 2026
The site of a skeletal office tower that has languished for years at the corner of 14th and Peachtree streets and labeled by neighbors as an eyesore has been deemed unsafe by the city of Atlanta.
—Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languished
Verb
-
As those temporary surpluses faded, homelessness spending fell sharply.—
Benjamin F. Henwood,
The Conversation,
10 June 2026
-
As Broadway star Avery Wilson sang the National Anthem, the camera faded to a shot of Trump saluting the flag, and MSG erupted into boos.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Since taking office in October 2024, President Prabowo Subianto has weakened the institutional guardrails that once constrained fiscal expansion and protected central‑bank independence.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
Over the course of two summers, the Kings weakened the fulcrum of their roster by losing Matt Roy and Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency, then exacerbating matters by casting off Jordan Spence for a modest return.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
9 June 2026
Verb
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From there, however, his scoring pace sagged somewhat down the stretch of Frölunda’s season.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
Weiss had initially sought to reinvent the CBS Evening News, dropping a two-anchor format that had sagged in the ratings.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Arasheben went downtown, knocked on doors and found somebody to make it for $37,000.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Just one minute later, Heung-min ran through the Czechia back line and had another open look, but this shot went wide of the goal to the left.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
Verb
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On their first two trips to the property, the enormity of the task at hand—and their utter naiveté in taking it on—sank in.—
Ingrid Abramovitch,
Architectural Digest,
22 May 2026
-
The study said the debris could have come from a foreign ship that sank—given the lack of information from the Russian side, who could say?—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Nursing home operators argued the state failed to properly account for the medical complexity of residents when calculating those payments, reducing reimbursement for facilities caring for some of the sickest patients.—
Brittany Miller,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
-
Towns called it a collective joy when the Spurs failed to score on the final possession.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Languished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languished. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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