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languish Definition

lan·guish (-gwis̸h)

intransitive verb

  1. to lose vigor or vitality; fail in health; become weak; droop
  2. to live under distressing conditions; continue in a state of suffering to languish in poverty
  3. to become slack or dull; lose intensity
  4. to suffer with longing; pine
  5. to put on an air of sentimental tenderness or wistful melancholy

Etymology: ME languishen < extended stem of OFr languir < L languescere < languere, to be weary: see languid

languish Related Forms

lan′·guisher noun lan′·guish·ment noun

languish Synonyms

languish

v.

  1. To weaken

    fade, fail, droop; see weaken 1.

  2. To want

    hunger, pine, desire; see need, want 1.

languish Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • shelf: All too often the results of this research lies languishing on the shelves of a university library, unavailable to the world at large.
  • benefit: The unemployed are encouraged to languish on benefits blaming others for their fate.

Preposition: at

  • bottom: Britain is in the middle of the European child poverty league table, not languishing at the bottom.
  • foot: We currently languish at the foot of the national recycling league 9th from bottom out of 393 local authorities.
  • end: He is not the only top driver to be languishing at the wrong end of the grid.

Adjective complement

unread: Many research findings languish unread having minimal impact on practice.

Modifying Another Word

  • currently: Currently languishing at the bottom of the premier league they could do with some cheering up.
  • alone: Eventually someone appeared and jostled us toward poor old Doris, a frail woman languishing alone in a side room.
  • still: The polls show them still languishing far behind Labor.
  • there: You are very likely to find the password message languishing there.
  • now: They are now languishing in Guantanamo at the whim of the US government.
  • then: The engine then languished in the open air, slowly deteriorating until under cover storage was provided about 15 years later.

Preposition: in

  • obscurity: Only four of the tracks were released contemporaneously, leaving the other twelve to languish in acetate obscurity for the ensuing 45 years.
  • jail: Many were tortured by the dreaded secret police, languished in jail or were executed.
  • vault: In recent years, two items have appeared on the illicit market which confirm the existence of worthy material languishing in the vaults.
  • prison: After ten years languishing in prison he's finally been released.
  • shadow: Yet still we languish in the shadows of the ' real ' professions.
  • camp: Meanwhile, in India, there are thousands of people languishing in camps in Tamil Nadu.

Preposition: for

year: Chiswick Park is being built on an old bus station site which has languished for years.

Preposition: near

foot: Languishing near the foot of the Third Division, gates have dwindled from 11,000 to less than 2,000.