as in listless
lacking bodily energy or motivation
his lingering sickness left him languishing and uninterested in his usual activities
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
as in failing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of languishing
Chad De Guzman, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
But other corners of the Argentine economy are languishing, and the president’s party got trounced in local elections earlier this month.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Thirtysomething is still languishing in streaming purgatory, with the show only available to watch on DVD.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
The leader of a program pairing low-income criminal defendants with free attorneys is out of her job, after a shortage of lawyers in Alameda County delayed prosecutions and left defendants languishing for weeks at the Santa Rita Jail.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Julia, getting exasperated, asks if Adriana has checked in on her children, which is probably a much bigger thing than Adriana’s languishing music career.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
However, only months before that deadline, the effort is languishing.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
While socialites and celebrities once clamored to buy sprawling apartments at buildings like River House and 1 Sutton Place, co-ops in the area have been languishing on the market — often for years.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
Scott, Derek Jeter’s first Marlins draft pick, is languishing in his seventh year in the minors, now in the Royals’ system.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
The country ranks 118th among 148 economies, the lowest among G-7 members, in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, languishing particularly in the political empowerment metric.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
But other corners of the Argentine economy are languishing, and the president’s party got trounced in local elections earlier this month.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Unfortunately, Thirtysomething is still languishing in streaming purgatory, with the show only available to watch on DVD.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025
The leader of a program pairing low-income criminal defendants with free attorneys is out of her job, after a shortage of lawyers in Alameda County delayed prosecutions and left defendants languishing for weeks at the Santa Rita Jail.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
Julia, getting exasperated, asks if Adriana has checked in on her children, which is probably a much bigger thing than Adriana’s languishing music career.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
However, only months before that deadline, the effort is languishing.
—Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
While socialites and celebrities once clamored to buy sprawling apartments at buildings like River House and 1 Sutton Place, co-ops in the area have been languishing on the market — often for years.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
Scott, Derek Jeter’s first Marlins draft pick, is languishing in his seventh year in the minors, now in the Royals’ system.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languishing
Adjective
-
His at-bats over the past two weeks often looked listless.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Hiring was listless across most sectors, especially white-collar industries where activity was flat in August, according to Tuesday’s report.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That combo typically signals bearish pressure is fading and a potential trend shift is forming.—
Nishant Pant,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Glitter’s dusty shadow, fading into the lower part of the brow bone, brought out the moody hue on the lips.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Hilary Putnam, one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers, stood out as a rare figure who treated changing his mind as a virtue rather than a failing.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
-
The inquest is expected to consider some or all of the concerns that were raised at the time and reported by The Athletic in the immediate aftermath, with multiple eyewitnesses alleging failings in the care provided by Sheffield Wednesday and its medical services.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
More pertinently, if Iroegbunam or Gueye tired or did not screen passes correctly (shown below), Rogers and Emiliano Buendia had huge spaces to receive and turn, owing to Everton’s deep centre-backs refusing to step out.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
If tired, float or tread water until out of the rip current.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
If the economy is not weakening, but strengthening, the outlook for inflation could tilt higher.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Equal-weight consumer discretionary has been under a bit of pressure, with restaurant and travel names weakening, and is now clearly underperforming the broad market on a one-year basis.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Because the attack came at the end of the war, and the U-boat had not received orders of any surrender, the sinking of the Eagle was reported as an engineering and boiler failure rather than an escalatory attack from a foreign adversary.—
Leanna Renee Hieber,
Big Think,
2 Oct. 2025
-
For the fortieth anniversary of the sinking in 2015, bassist Rick Haynes and Lightfoot flew from a concert in Utica, New York, on their only day off from their tour, to the Upper Peninsula, then drove to Whitefish Point for an event — and not to play, just to be there with the families.—
John U. Bacon,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Or perhaps its author was just exhausted, which would be entirely understandable.—
Liz Schubauer,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
-
So, yeah, when all was said and done, Jones was exhausted.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Much of the composition is given to the trio of commissioners who, tasked with investigating charges of bias in the trial, upheld the verdict—their faces sagging and stony, their staid officiousness echoing the resolute lines of the courthouse behind them.—
Nicole Rudick,
The New York Review of Books,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The budget negotiations mark the latest step in the city’s financial crisis, which was caused in large part by sagging sales tax revenue and growing expenses.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Languishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languishing. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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