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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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

languish Synonyms

languish

v.

  1. To weaken

    fade, fail, droop; see weaken 1.

  2. To want

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


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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.

Preposition: at

  • bottom: Britain is in the middle of the European child poverty league table, not languishing at the bottom.

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.

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.

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.
languish usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

languish quotes

Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night, Brother to Death, in silent darkness born, Relieve my languish and restore the light; With dark forgetting of my care return. And let the day be time enough to mourn The shipwreck of my ill adventured youth: Let waking eyes suffice to wail their scorn Without the torment of the night's untruth.

-Daniel, Samuel

   Liberty isthemotherof virtue, and if women be, by their very constitution, slaves, and not allowed to breathe the sharp invigorating air of freedom, they must ever languish like exotics, and be reckoned beautiful flaws in nature.

-Wollstonecraft, Mary also known as Mrs Godwin

languish quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"languish." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/languish>

APA Style

languish. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/languish

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