languish

• POS: Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: lan=guish

CIDE DICTIONARY

languish, v. i. [OE. languishen, languissen, F. languir, L. languere; cf. Gr. to slacken, slack, Icel. lakra to lag behind; prob. akin to E. lag, lax, and perh. to E. slack. See -ish.].

•  To become languid or weak; to lose strength or animation; to be or become dull, feeble or spiritless; to pine away; to linger in a weak or deteriorating condition; to wither or fade.  [1913 Webster]

  "We . . . do languish of such diseases."  [1913 Webster]

  "Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
  And let me languish into life."  [1913 Webster]

  "For the fields of Heshbon languish."  [1913 Webster]
•  To assume an expression of weariness or tender grief, appealing for sympathy.  Tennyson.
•  To be neglected and unattended to; as, the proposal languished on the director's desk for months.  [PJC]

Syn. -- To pine; wither; fade; droop; faint.

languish, v. i. 

 To cause to droop or pine.  Shak. Dryden.  [1913 Webster]

languish, n. 

 See Languishment.  [1913 Webster]
"What, of death, too,
That rids our dogs of languish?"  [1913 Webster]
"And the blue languish of soft Allia's eye."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

languish, v.intr.
1 be or grow feeble; lose or lack vitality.
2 put on a sentimentally tender or languid look.

Idiom

languish for droop or pine for. languish under suffer under (esp. depression, confinement, etc.).

Derivative

languisher n. languishingly adv. languishment n.

Etymology

ME f. OF languir, ult. f. L languere, rel. to LAX

THESAURUS

languish

abate, ablate, bate, be eaten away, become suicidal, break, cave in, collapse, come apart, come unstuck, conk out, consume, consume away, corrode, crumble, decline, decrease, deliquesce, desiccate, despair, despond, deteriorate, die away, diminish, disintegrate, dive, droop, drop, drop off, dry up, dwindle, ebb, erode, fade, fade away, fail, faint, fall, fall away, fall off, fizzle out, flag, give out, give way, go downhill, go soft, go to pieces, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, lessen, let up, lose heart, lose strength, melt away, peak, peg out, peter out, pine, plumb the depths, plummet, plunge, poop out, reach the depths, run down, run low, sag, sear, shrink, shrivel, sink, subside, tail off, touch bottom, wane, waste, waste away, weaken, wear, wear away, wear thin, wilt, wither, wither away, wizen, yield

ROGET THESAURUS

languish

Disease

VB V, be ill, ail, suffer, labor under, be affected with, complain of, have, droop, flag, languish, halt, sicken, peak, pine, gasp, keep one's bed, feign sickness, lay by, lay up, take a disease, catch a disease, catch an infection, break out.

Decrease

VB decrease, diminish, lessen, abridge, shrink, drop off, fall off, tail off, fall away, waste, wear, wane, ebb, decline, descend, subside, melt away, die away, retire into the shade, hide its diminished head, fall to a low ebb, run low, languish, decay, crumble, bate, abate, dequantitate, discount, depreciate, extenuate, lower, weaken, attenuate, fritter away, mitigate, dwarf, throw into the shade, reduce, shorten, subtract.

Inactivity

VB be inactive, do nothing, move slowly, let the grass grow under one's feet, take one's time, dawdle, drawl, droil, lag, hang back, slouch, loll, lollop, lounge, poke, loaf, loiter, go to sleep over, sleep at one's post, ne battre que d'une aile, take it easy, take things as they come, lead an easy life, vegetate, swim with the stream, eat the bread of idleness, loll in the lap of luxury, loll in the lap of indolence, waste time, consume time, kill time, lose time, burn daylight, waste the precious hours, idle away time, trifle away time, fritter away time, fool away time, spend time in, take time in, peddle, piddle, potter, pudder, dabble, faddle fribble, fiddle-faddle, dally, dilly-dally, sleep, slumber, be asleep, hibernate, oversleep, sleep like a top, sleep like a log, sleep like a dormouse, sleep soundly, heavily, doze, drowze, snooze, nap, take a nap, dream, snore one's best, settle to sleep, go to sleep, go off to sleep, doze off, drop off, fall asleep, drop asleep, close the eyes, seal up the eyes, seal up eyelids, weigh down the eyelids, get sleep, nod, yawn, go to bed, turn, get some z's, stack z's, languish, expend itself, flag, hang fire, relax, render idle, sluggardize, mitigate.

Weakness

VB be weak, drop, crumble, give way, totter, tremble, shake, halt, limp, fade, languish, decline, flag, fail, have one leg in the grave, render weak, weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate, unbrace, unnerve, cripple, unman, cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of, dilute, impoverish, decimate, extenuate, reduce in strength, reduce the strength of, mettre de l'eau dans son vin.

Pain

VB feel pain, suffer pain, experience pain, undergo pain, bear pain, endure pain, smart, ache, suffer, bleed, ail, be the victim of, labor under afflictions, bear the cross, quaff the bitter cup, have a bad time of it, fall on evil days, go hard with, come to grief, fall a sacrifice to, drain the cup of misery to the dregs, sup full of horrors, sit on thorns, be on pins and needles, wince, fret, chafe, worry oneself, be in a taking, fret and fume, take on, take to heart, cark, grieve, mourn, yearn, repine, pine, droop, languish, sink, give way, despair, break one's heart, weigh upon the heart.