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 This languor expands in the velvety air. J.t. Townley, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2025 Eastwood stars in both, and both suffer from some of the late-career languors that started to creep into his movies after a certain point, mostly due to a tendency to let dialogue scenes play on and on without much regard to rhythm or pace. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024 That there was this kind of languor, a little bit of maturity. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2024 The companionable dynamics in his scenes with Melling and Kene are a treat and help to leaven the languor that sets in the back-half of the run-time. Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for languor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languor
Noun
  • Because her motivations seem much more complicated than mere boredom in your adaptation.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Goldman Sachs last month had its busiest IPO week since July 2021, when pandemic boredom fueled a listings binge, not all of it healthy.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • However, the effects on hiring may be blunted by persistent weakness in the labor market.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • JPMorgan adds SharkNinja to the focus list JPM said investors should buy the weakness in the consumer products company.
    Michael Bloom, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Infections may also bring respiratory symptoms like sneezing and lethargy.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
  • My friend points to her husband’s lethargy as a sign of illness, though neither of them detected it at the time.
    Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Tatar says these small but impactful changes compound over time, helping both workers and executives avoid the exhaustion and inefficiency that can come with new office mandates.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Not one time mentioning his exhaustion or lack of sleep going into a show day.
    Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The cilantro is key because its chlorophyllic sharpness slaps the stupor out of the starchy beans.
    Nina Moskowitz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Symptoms of the more serious illness include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, according to the CDC.
    Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Now, Google is rolling out a new Chrome feature on Android and desktop to help cut through notification fatigue.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Another study found that creatine can help support those with traumatic brain injuries, showing improvements in amnesia, headaches and fatigue.
    Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Europe’s lassitude is heightened by internal divisions.
    HENRY FARRELL, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
  • As something of a companion piece to More, Jacques Deray’s summer thriller La Piscine is a far more dramatic and insidious tale of tropical desire, lassitude, and violence.
    Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • In Will There Ever Be Another You, the main character struggles with an illness similar to long COVID, descending into a state of debility and psychosis as readers experience the chaos of her unraveling life.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
    Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Languor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languor. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on languor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!