Languish

Pronunciation: /ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ/

Definitions of languish

verb to suffer from being forced to remain in an unpleasant or difficult situation

Example Sentences

A1 The plants began to languish without water.

A2 She could see the animals languish in the hot sun.

B1 The company's profits continued to languish despite efforts to improve.

B2 The artist's career started to languish after a series of unsuccessful exhibitions.

C1 The once vibrant neighborhood began to languish as businesses closed down.

C2 The author's reputation began to languish after allegations of plagiarism surfaced.

Examples of languish in a Sentence

formal The prisoner continued to languish in his cell, awaiting trial.

informal She's been languishing at home all day, bored out of her mind.

slang I can't believe he's still languishing on the couch instead of getting up and doing something productive.

figurative Without proper care, the plant will languish and eventually die.

Grammatical Forms of languish

• past tense: languished
• plural: languishes
• comparative: more languished
• superlative: most languished
• present tense: languish
• future tense: will languish
• perfect tense: have languished
• continuous tense: is languishing
• singular: languish
• positive degree: languish
• infinitive: to languish
• gerund: languishing
• participle: languishing

Origin and Evolution of languish

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old French and Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'languish' originated from the Old French word 'languiss-' which came from the Latin word 'languere' meaning to be faint or weak.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'languish' has evolved to encompass not only physical weakness but also a state of emotional or mental distress or suffering.