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 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 The French Vietnamese director, Tran Anh Hung, is contemporary cinema’s great poet of languor. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for languor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languor
Noun
  • Smoking often masks something deeper: stress, social anxiety, trauma, or even boredom.
    John Samuels, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
  • In fact, the broader legalization of cannabis for recreational and medical purposes has likely driven its boosted popularity and public image, leading many to see it as a relatively safe substance for relaxation and relief from stress, pain, and even boredom.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • Frank is committed to improving players’ strengths and weaknesses, and this is an area that could facilitate Tel’s development.
    Elias Burke, New York Times, 20 June 2025
  • The pair argues that Europe risks falling behind not due to a lack of technical capability but because of structural market weaknesses.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • Kota, the zoo's youngest male orangutan, started showing signs of lethargy and continued to decline despite efforts of zoo veterinary and animal care staff to administer care, the zoo said in the release.
    Harley Walls, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2025
  • But in January 2021, Hurley watched as her usually spunky youngest daughter began experiencing nose bleeds and prolonged bouts of lethargy.
    Johnny Dodd, People.com, 15 June 2025
Noun
  • Similar to the chart of WTI crude oil, the VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH) has improved intermediate-term momentum and no signs of upside exhaustion, increasing the likelihood of a breakout above a Fibonacci retracement level near $257 for a secondary objective of $298.
    Katie Stockton, CNBC, 16 June 2025
  • The condition can cause symptoms like exhaustion, irritability, unintentional weight loss, hand tremors, and skin discoloration, according to the Mayo Clinic. About 1 percent of Americans have Graves' disease, according to Yale Medicine.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 14 June 2025
Noun
  • The soup throwers and activists blindfolding statues hope to wake us from our climate stupor.
    Marianne Krasny, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
  • The dessert in question is a gorgeous, tiered, scarlet confection that is dosed with enough medicine to send everyone who eats it into a sleeping stupor in about two hours.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 May 2025
Noun
  • Regardless of your fitness level, stay alert for other cardiac warning signs, too: pain that radiates down your arm or jaw, unusual fatigue, and fainting or almost fainting.
    Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 23 June 2025
  • Add alert fatigue and organizations are left with blind spots hidden behind dashboards.
    Rick Hutchinson, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • The result of this lassitude is that cars still rule the streets.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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