as in faded
to lose bodily strength or vigor
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of languished
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
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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languished
Verb
-
Back on the field in Casablanca, the politics, war and debate faded away, leaving only a group of teenagers chasing a ball.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
-
That faded almost immediately, though the headache lingered half the day.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
At the same time, his ability in recent months to command functioning majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives has weakened considerably.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
The study finds that auto-renewal generated higher revenue in the medium term, but the advantage weakened as the subscriber count and engagement picture deteriorated.—
HEC Paris Insights,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Benintendi went deep after pinch-hitter Sam Antonacci doubled off Fernando Cruz (4-2).—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
News of his upcoming match went viral on Weibo, with the hashtag racking up more than 24 million views.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Two other ships owned by Lan, priced at about $175,000 each, have also failed to find buyers.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
-
Staff at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System recommended Tuesday that the board drop United Healthcare plans after negotiations with the insurer over next year’s premiums failed to yield lower rates.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Languished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languished. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
