LANGUOR Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

languor

noun

ˈlaŋ-gər

Definition of languor

as in boredom

physical or mental inertness the beach was packed with sunbathers wallowing in the languor brought on by a scorching summer day

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in weakness

the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor the tropical heat sapped our strength, leaving us in a state of unaccustomed languor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 On Girl Violence, Strauss drenches her songs in feedback and languor, adding heat to her expressions of desire and comfort to her feelings of anxiety. — Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for languor

Recent Examples of Synonyms for languor

Noun

Rich might have been afraid of putting too much explanatory weight on a writer’s existential boredom (or horniness).

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
The discomfort of boredom often becomes the spark for curiosity, creativity, independence and discovering lifelong interests.

— Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 16 July 2026

Definition of boredom

Noun

Such declines can impact muscle strength, bone density, and libido, potentially causing fatigue and weakness.

— Nina Shapiro, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
At a meeting earlier this month, the RMG Sustainability Council warned that structural weaknesses could put lives and property at risk if the building remained open.

— Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 17 July 2026

Definition of weakness

Noun

Anaplasmosis symptoms can be similar to those of Lyme disease, including fever, headache, fatigue, lethargy, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

— Amanda Roome, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
More severe signs of heat stroke include lethargy, weakness, the loss of the ability to stand, confusion, loss of coordination, vomiting and diarrhea.

— Tanya Edwards, USA Today, 30 June 2026

Definition of lethargy

Noun

Competing demands — for example, from illness, injury, or chronic stress — can appear not only as poor health, but also as negative conscious experiences such as anxiety, brain fog, and exhaustion.

— Rachel Nuwer, Quanta Magazine, 17 July 2026
Barrett said the goal is for the justices to have as large a security detail as those dedicated to Cabinet members, in part to avoid burnout and exhaustion among the four to eight officers typically assigned to each justice.

— Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 14 July 2026

Definition of exhaustion

Noun

The 14-month-old was diagnosed with alcohol intoxication with complications and stupor, as well as acute respiratory failure, according to The Advocate and WBRZ.

— Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
But Supergirl doesn’t quite want to deal with the immensity of its protagonist’s feelings; her drunken stupor is often played for laughs, defined by disheveled hair, big sunglasses, and plenty of slurred speech.

— David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026

Definition of stupor

Noun

If testosterone levels are too low, at any age, this can lead to muscle and bone weakness, fatigue, and decline in libido.

— Nina Shapiro, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026
Warning signs worth flagging to a doctor include loud snoring, gasping for air during sleep, severe daytime fatigue, persistent low mood, rapid heart rate and unexplained weight changes.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 July 2026

Definition of fatigue

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

Definition of lassitude

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

Definition of debility

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“Languor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languor. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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