Definition of languornext

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun languor contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of languor are lassitude, lethargy, stupor, and torpor. While all these words mean "physical or mental inertness," languor suggests inertia induced by an enervating climate or illness or love.

languor induced by a tropical vacation

When is it sensible to use lassitude instead of languor?

While the synonyms lassitude and languor are close in meaning, lassitude stresses listlessness or indifference resulting from fatigue or poor health.

a depression marked by lassitude

When can lethargy be used instead of languor?

The meanings of lethargy and languor largely overlap; however, lethargy implies such drowsiness or aversion to activity as is induced by disease, injury, or drugs.

months of lethargy followed my accident

When could stupor be used to replace languor?

The synonyms stupor and languor are sometimes interchangeable, but stupor implies a deadening of the mind and senses by shock, narcotics, or intoxicants.

lapsed into an alcoholic stupor

When might torpor be a better fit than languor?

While in some cases nearly identical to languor, torpor implies a state of suspended animation as of hibernating animals but may suggest merely extreme sluggishness.

a once alert mind now in a torpor

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 languor Austen wrings a great deal of humor from Lady Bertram’s dopey languor. Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026 No wilting languor on this veranda — for that matter, no veranda either — just ferocity, desperation, and, of course, brutal desire. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025 Nothing like a little languor and ennui — and in crisp black-and-white — on the Algerian coast to usher out winter and into spring. Jay Cannon, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025 Infield singles by Jake Cronenworth and Tatis in the eighth inning, both of which caromed off pitcher Gregory Soto, broke up the offensive languor but did not result in the game being any closer. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for languor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languor
Noun
  • Here are three of those habits, and why the boredom is doing the work.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Let’s let go of the self-identification with boredom or over-stimulation claiming to overshadow our path to progress.
    Tony Lobl, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • And Japan’s use of the Fed’s Foreign and International Monetary Authorities Repo Facility is actually a sign of dollar strength rather than weakness.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Evidence points to much of the monthly weakness being related to the end of major events, including the World Cup and America 250.
    Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Contact your veterinarian even if your pet appears healthy, and seek emergency care for symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy or appetite loss.
    Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 27 July 2026
  • Symptoms include coughing, rapid breathing, lethargy, and reluctance to exercise; open-mouth breathing in cats is an emergency.
    Jen Reeder, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Noun
  • When leaders pour their love into the world outside and don't save any for themselves, the difference leads to exhaustion.
    Gregory Stebbins, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Meganalisis said the results reflect a post-disaster mood defined by anger and emotional exhaustion.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The sense is of a political culture reluctantly shaking off a decades-long stupor.
    Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • The severe strain of the virus often presents as a fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, or paralysis.
    Mary Ella Hastings July 24, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 July 2026
Noun
  • That same study found users to have experienced other side effects such as nausea, flushing and fatigue.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Symptoms begin two days to two weeks after exposure and include watery diarrhea, fatigue and loss of appetite.
    Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Stranger by the Lake is a bookend of sorts to La Piscine, as both films seem to condemn their characters, and by extension, the counterculture surrounding them, to a lassitude incapable of any moral authority.
    Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
  • The result of this lassitude is that cars still rule the streets.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • And, when pets suffered from cancer or heart failure or debility, conversations about what to do next were emotional but often straightforward.
    Sunita Puri, New Yorker, 6 June 2026
  • His trajectory is one of softening, from the swaggering knight of the opening to the irrepressible lover of the second act to his final physical debility.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Languor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languor. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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