as in listless
lacking bodily energy or motivation
his lingering sickness left him languishing and uninterested in his usual activities
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in failing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in fading
to lose bodily strength or vigor
older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of languishing
Amber Rambharose, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026
Her seventh novel follows longtime friends Laura Miller and Edmund Putnam, both languishing in personal and professional troughs.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
After languishing on the market for over a year, Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman has finally managed to offload his modern farmhouse-style residence in the far western reaches of Studio City.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 3 Jan. 2026
After languishing in detention for over three months, Hermel made the difficult decision to self-deport to Ecuador.
—Carol Guzy, Miami Herald, 1 Jan. 2026
Three years later he was relegated to the bench, languishing for six years before re-emerging to lead the Arizona Cardinals to their first-ever Super Bowl.
—Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2025
The country’s most popular politician Aung San Suu Kyi is languishing in prison and its most successful political party has been dissolved.
—Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 27 Dec. 2025
If your raspberries have been languishing in your fridge long enough to lose their visual appeal but still taste fine, this is a wonderful method for getting some use out of them.
—Katie Akin, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
Once Havertz is back from injury and up to speed, and if Gyokeres is still languishing in front of goal, then taking him out of the starting XI wouldn’t be the worst thing.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
Verb
Wondering where to wear the killer jumpsuit that's been languishing in the back of your closet?
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for languishing
Adjective
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Data released earlier this week further confirmed the listless state of the broader labor market.—
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One was a listless, underweight female goat with no appetite.—
Noun
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Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ majority owner since 2009, is now looking for his eighth different head coach in a parade of floundering, flailing and failing.—
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Robotics startups typically prefer to show off their research prototypes in videos on social media, offering them the opportunity to show the machines at their best and edit out their failings.—
Verb
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But her role as fading movie star Kay Stone in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, opposite Timothée Chalamet, marks her grand return.—
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The days of underground stashes and whispered conversations are fading fast.—
Adjective
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The first turned a fourth-quarter fumble into a 59-yard score when Achane burst through a tired, and seemingly defeated Buffalo defensive front and outsprinted the Bills’ entire secondary to the end zone.—
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But that feels like a tired, outdated characterisation.—
Noun
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Land subsidence is the sinking or collapsing of surface land due to the removal of things such as underground water, oil or gas.—
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Rescuers found the first victim, the 12-year-old Spanish girl, three days later, floating near the northern waters of Serai island, fewer than a mile from the site of the sinking.—
Verb
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Milk, butter and cheese prices on the wholesale market and at grocery stores have decreased slightly due to oversupply and weakening consumer demand.—
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This suggests consumers enter 2026 with continuing concerns over high prices and weakening labor market conditions.—
Adjective
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Two shivering dogs now sat in her backseat, exhausted but safe.—
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Surely that has increasing resonance among the politically exhausted and spiritually disenchanted.—
Noun
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In the old tool, the factors weren’t measured by a worsening, neutral or improving score.—
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Potential complications include sinus and ear infections; inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle tissues; multi-organ failure; sepsis or the worsening of chronic conditions like asthma.—
Cite this Entry
“Languishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languishing. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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