languishing

[lang-gwi-shing] /ˈlæŋ gwɪ ʃɪŋ/
adjective
1.
becoming languid, in any way.
2.
expressive of languor; indicating tender, sentimental melancholy:
a languishing sigh.
3.
lingering:
a languishing death.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English; see languish, -ing2
Related forms
languishingly, adverb
half-languishing, adjective
unlanguishing, adjective

languish

[lang-gwish] /ˈlæŋ gwɪʃ/
verb (used without object)
1.
to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
2.
to lose vigor and vitality.
3.
to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress:
to languish in prison for ten years.
4.
to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored:
a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year.
5.
to pine with desire or longing.
6.
to assume an expression of tender, sentimental melancholy.
noun
7.
the act or state of languishing.
8.
a tender, melancholy look or expression.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Middle French languiss-, long stem of languir ≪ Latin languēre to languish; akin to laxus lax; see -ish2
Related forms
languisher, noun
Examples from the web for languishing
  • Even worse, workers who never went to college in the first place, languishing in their careers for lack of a college credential.
  • But even before this disaster, markets around the world were languishing.
  • All my pre-digital shots are languishing in dusty old albums, slowly falling to pieces.
  • Still, many apartments are languishing on the market.
  • Never mind the carefully crafted manuscripts languishing in slush piles all across the country.
  • Trading volumes were languishing and companies were rushing to delist.
  • Growing our own food again would reconnect us to this country's languishing frontier spirit.
  • And in the midst of this midterm grading, even my languishing research is sounding mighty fun again.
  • The flip side of living in a tropical paradise is languishing on a tropical island you can't escape.
  • Others such as business services and communications are languishing.
British Dictionary definitions for languishing

languish

/ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ/
verb (intransitive)
1.
to lose or diminish in strength or energy
2.
(often foll by for) to be listless with desire; pine
3.
to suffer deprivation, hardship, or neglect: to languish in prison
4.
to put on a tender, nostalgic, or melancholic expression
Derived Forms
languishing, adjective
languishingly, adverb
languishment, noun
Word Origin
C14 languishen, from Old French languiss-, stem of languir, ultimately from Latin languēre
Word Origin and History for languishing

languish

v.

early 14c., "fail in strength, exhibit signs of approaching death," from languiss-, present participle stem of Old French languir "be listless, pine, grieve, fall ill," from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Weaker sense "be lovesick, grieve, lament, grow faint," is from mid-14c. Related: Languished; languishing.