Link Centre Dictionary

languish

lan·guish

UK/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ US/ˈleɪ̯ŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ rare archaic obsolete

verb

1.

lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief

  • “After her husband died, she just pined away”
2.

have a desire for something or someone who is not present

  • “She ached for a cigarette”
  • “I am pining for my lover”
3.

become feeble

  • “The prisoner has be languishing for years in the dungeon”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English languysshen, from the present participle stem of Anglo-Norman and Middle French languir, from Late Latin languīre, alteration of Latin languēre (“to be faint, unwell”). : Compare languor, languid and lax. : Cognate with slack.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.