languish
verb
Edith Wharton
Synonyms
Examples of languish in a Sentence
Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
LaMelo Ball’s pesky troublesome ankles, Cody Martin’s languishing knee problems, Mark Williams’ back trouble — which apparently also involves a bone issue — and Miles Bridges’ legal woes robbed Clifford of any legitimate shot at success.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 4 Apr. 2024
Apple has languished behind the other big gen-AI players like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024
For nearly all of her 16-month presidency, her approval ratings have languished in the single digits.
—Simeon Tegel, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Without the votes to move forward, Greene’s attempt to oust Johnson may languish in the halls of Congress.
—Melissa Cruz, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
The player who holds the program record for points scored in Galen Center did not return for a fifth year of college just to languish in 11th place in the conference standings.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
The race pits a president languishing in the polls against a challenger facing multiple criminal indictments.
—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Over the past few decades, as innovative technologies drove growth, jobs and wealth have become more concentrated in a few coastal cities while other areas languished.
—Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'languish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English, from Anglo-French languiss-, stem of languir, from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languēre
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
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Cite this Entry
“Languish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/languish. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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languish
verb
More from Merriam-Webster on languish
Nglish: Translation of languish for Spanish Speakers
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