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
  • Recently married to a promising academic yet already a frustrated wife, prone to boredom and depression?
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Hunting the lockdown phase of the rut means hour upon hour of boredom interrupted by moments of pure chaos.
    Will Brantley, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Ancelotti and Zidane certainly had their own tactical ideas, but were also pragmatic and based game plans primarily on the characteristics (strengths and weaknesses) of the squad made available to them.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The Dodgers' bullpen is one of their weaknesses, meaning the team is asking a lot from starters.
    Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • If your lethargy or lack of desire to see people lingers for more than a few days, talking to someone is probably a good idea.
    Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The signs of bird flu in dogs and cats include fever, lethargy, low appetite, red or inflamed eyes, discharge from eyes and nose, coughing or sneezing, difficulty breathing and neurologic signs such as tremors, seizures, incoordination or blindness, according to the AVMA.
    Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Rochelle would drink a protein shake or eat leftovers if anxiety and exhaustion didn’t kill her hunger.
    Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Due to the snowy, windy weather, the hikers were rescued in various conditions, with symptoms ranging from exhaustion to hypothermia.
    Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Daedone wanted to savor decrescendo, too, as well as stasis, stupor, spiritual awakening, and whatever other sensations the stroke brought out.
    Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The cilantro is key because its chlorophyllic sharpness slaps the stupor out of the starchy beans.
    Nina Moskowitz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • As a solution to the problem of fatigue, two extra changes has been the footballing equivalent of throwing a glass of water onto a chip pan fire.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The tactic is basically authoritarianism through fatigue.
    Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 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

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Cite this Entry

“Languor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languor. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

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