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 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
  • Calder may have mistaken writing about boredom for writing boredom.
    Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
  • Instead, a quick TikTok showing the little girl quietly taking in the world around her without an iPad sparked a conversation among millions of parents about screen time, boredom and what childhood looks like today.
    Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
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
Noun
  • 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
  • Helado Tropical is a fitting soundtrack for the part of the summer when the season settles into a sweaty and pensive lethargy.
    E.R. Pulgar, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026
Noun
  • Punch was abandoned by his mother after his birth a year ago Sunday, presumably because of exhaustion.
    ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2026
  • Rescue teams must also reach the victim and remove them from the water quickly, particularly when exhaustion, cold or rough conditions could make survival more difficult.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026
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
Noun
  • The fever and the less intense strain often presents as a headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea, and fatigue.
    Mary Ella Hastings July 24, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 July 2026
  • Subscription fatigue is real and only getting worse; according to a 2023 Harvard Business School study, nearly 75% of consumer-facing companies offer some form of subscription service.
    Bee Wertheimer, PC Magazine, 24 July 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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