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 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 By Judy Berman July 31, 2024 7:00 AM EDT Summer languor has set in on the TV calendar this July, as House of the Dragon and Love Island USA—but little else—have captivated viewers fresh off June’s The Bear binge. Judy Berman, TIME, 31 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for languor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languor
Noun
  • But parents from years past had fewer regulations, so kids were able to experience boredom, befriend kids their parents were unfamiliar with, and rebel in small ways outside of their parents purview (like stealing from Claire's or putting on layers of Nars blush in the 7th grade).
    Annabelle Canela, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Dopamine loops from social media, games, and constant notifications have reduced their tolerance for boredom, focus and real-world interaction.
    Elan Gepner-Dales, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • It could be argued that this trio of managers followed each other at United because their strengths answered the previous manager’s weaknesses.
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The weakness was most pronounced on the goods-producing side of the economy.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • There can also be severe neurological changes, such as confusion or lethargy.
    Julie Scott, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2025
  • In cats and dogs, symptoms can include fever, lethargy and loss of appetite, in addition to lymph node swelling under the jaw.
    Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Making critical decisions from exhaustion, not vision.
    Yermys Pena, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • My Lebanese friends and business associates increasingly speak of exhaustion with conflict, hunger for economic progress, and today’s unprecedented opportunities.
    semafor.com, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The director does get solid performances out of his French and Italian cast, with the engaging Ronchi (Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams) playing a softspoken woman who seems to be in some kind of permanent stupor until her confessions bring her back to life.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The same corporate event planners who used to book futurists with hologram slide decks are now on the hunt for celebrity performers who can yank an audience out of its AI stupor for ten electrifying minutes.
    Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • It’s always conducted in the blind, with protocols employed to avoid any undue influence, from pay-to-play to palate fatigue.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Lisa Healy, 29, from Toronto, Canada, battled decades of fatigue, weakness and low energy, which affected her mood and was often described as sadness.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 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
  • The shadow of death and debility haunted American women throughout the nineteenth century.
    Jenny Noyce, JSTOR Daily, 28 June 2024
  • President Biden’s troubles — lingering inflation, wars and rumors of wars, his debility — could have benefited any Republican.
    David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Languor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languor. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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