as in listless
lacking bodily energy or motivation
his lingering sickness left him languishing and uninterested in his usual activities
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in failing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in fading
to lose bodily strength or vigor
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of languishing
Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The Padres for the first time in 2026 have a chance on Sunday to win the first of their three series this season, because an offense languishing near the bottom of the major leagues in most categories made enough of their 12 baserunners count.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
In addition to the funding proposed by the Governor to serve homeless individuals and families, an additional $50 million in RAP assistance is needed to serve the working families, disabled, and elderly individuals who are languishing on the state’s RAP wait list.
—Allen Harrison, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2026
Jason Segal’s character directed an indie film years before languishing in commercials.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
But today, net overseas direct investment into Indian businesses is languishing between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to data shared by Indian ratings and research firm Care Ratings on Tuesday.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
There are languishing eight-figure listings and embarrassing price cuts.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 31 Mar. 2026
The high-rise, which connects to Salesforce Park via a skybridge, only has a few floors left that are available for leasing — a formidable turnaround given that its entire office component was languishing on the sublease market less than three years ago.
—Laura Waxmann, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2026
Still, even a play-off place is the stuff of dreams for a nation who were languishing in 191st place in the rankings as recently as December 2015.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
The skyway corridors with highest density sit directly atop the most languishing streetscapes, Spencer said, and vice versa.
—Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
Groypers believe that for decades America has prostrated itself to immigrants and foreign nations at the expense of its own languishing citizens.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The Padres for the first time in 2026 have a chance on Sunday to win the first of their three series this season, because an offense languishing near the bottom of the major leagues in most categories made enough of their 12 baserunners count.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
In addition to the funding proposed by the Governor to serve homeless individuals and families, an additional $50 million in RAP assistance is needed to serve the working families, disabled, and elderly individuals who are languishing on the state’s RAP wait list.
—Allen Harrison, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2026
Jason Segal’s character directed an indie film years before languishing in commercials.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
But today, net overseas direct investment into Indian businesses is languishing between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to data shared by Indian ratings and research firm Care Ratings on Tuesday.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
There are languishing eight-figure listings and embarrassing price cuts.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 31 Mar. 2026
The high-rise, which connects to Salesforce Park via a skybridge, only has a few floors left that are available for leasing — a formidable turnaround given that its entire office component was languishing on the sublease market less than three years ago.
—Laura Waxmann, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2026
Still, even a play-off place is the stuff of dreams for a nation who were languishing in 191st place in the rankings as recently as December 2015.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languishing
Adjective
-
This sense of being listless without Kane is nothing new.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Smith’s swing capped a six-run ninth for the Braves, who were mostly listless offensively until that point.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Isolated by its beautiful, rugged mountains, West Virginia sits entirely within Appalachia and has long been listed at the bottom of a laundry list of failings, including poor health and a lack of education.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
More accurately, these failings are arrogance and incompetence.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Dylan’s Patreon is neither a brilliant multimedia project or a sign that his skills are fading.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
-
But with game preservation increasingly becoming an important aspect in the industry, Defender seems to be a fading memory for older players, as well as an unknown game for younger ones.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Even in Huntington Beach, residents tired of perpetual culture wars rejected two ballot measures last year seeking to give the City Council more control over a municipal library system that Van Der Mark long claimed was essentially providing pornography to children.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Ditch those tired frozen meals and try out something a bit more exciting in your work lunch routine.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Dyer notes that Cox may well have been confused by the mental and physical trauma of the sinking and the deprivations of five days adrift.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Speaker Emily Coughlan will recap the dramatic 1912 sinking of the oceanliner and tell stories of survivors who eventually made it to Central Florida.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Anthropic's showdown with the Pentagon this year left OpenAI looking like the bad guy, and just this week Bloomberg reported that demand is weakening for private shares of OpenAI in the secondary market.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But those safeguards appear to be weakening.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Taylor was discharged after four days, weak and exhausted but out of the woods.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
-
What is exhausted is repetition without thought.—
Manuela Moscoso,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Two of the people with MS, including Miller, have progressive MS, a form of the disease marked by gradual worsening of neurological function and disabilities over time.—
Kaitlin Sullivan,
NBC news,
15 Mar. 2026
-
With America’s loneliness epidemic worsening, there’s a real risk of suicide rates continuing to rise.—
Sam Manzella,
Flow Space,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Languishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languishing. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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