languishes

verb

present tense third-person singular of languish
as in fades
to lose bodily strength or vigor older people, especially, were languishing during the prolonged heat wave

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of languishes Trump will host crypto executives at the White House on Wednesday as that measure, which would enshrine the current SEC’s approach, languishes in the Senate. — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Wait on Weed Control High heat causes many types of weeds to flourish while turf grass languishes. — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Aug. 2026 As its stock languishes below its IPO price — at press time, $131 — short sellers are going all in against the company, hoping to make a killing off of CEO Elon Musk’s faltering pull on investors. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 16 July 2026 Mars languishes low in morning twilight for the fifth month in a row. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 2 May 2026 In the second, supply balloons while demand languishes, which could happen if, for example, the AI bubble pops. — Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026 No such luck with Imperfect Women, which languishes in the same genre space but is perfectly obvious in comparison, a series that solves its mystery halfway through the season but still keeps going. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026 Manu has found a home, but in the human world her mother languishes in a detention facility and her father, the head of a criminal enterprise, is known among her friends as a rebel who has disappeared and is assumed dead. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 15 Feb. 2026 Those that finish from first to eighth in the league phase will automatically go through, and while Barca currently languishes in 15th, a win could take them up into the threshold depending on how other results pan out. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for languishes
  1. fades
  2. weakens
  3. sags
  4. goes
  5. fails
  6. sinks
Verb
  • Duncan says the initial shock usually fades after a round or two, and cycling back and forth multiple times yields better results.
    — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The stigma fades Adults playing with toys used to be a punchline.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of fades
Verb
  • If one connection weakens, Halo can use other available links to preserve connectivity.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Precipitation is expected to gradually taper off Thursday afternoon as the storm system moves east and weakens.
    — Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of weakens
Verb
  • Unfortunately, using too little paint will leave patchy areas and harsh lines, and using too much paint will promote drips and paint that sags.
    — Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 6 July 2026
  • There is no scrapeable archive of how to grasp a wet cup, unload a box that sags in the middle, fold a towel, or help an older adult out of a chair.
    — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Definition of sags
Verb
  • In Whalefall, written and directed by Brian Duffield, Jay (Abrams) goes diving in the Pacific Ocean to find the remains of his late father Mitt (Josh Brolin), who took his own life a year before amid a terminal illness.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Based on Greaves’ short story, One Night Out centers on a married couple who head out to enjoy a rare date night when their babysitter goes missing.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of goes
Verb
  • If the upcoming winter fails to deliver a banner snow season, recovering from the drought could take longer.
    — Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The graph also fails to account for bigger developments in Russia’s diesel industry related to the strikes.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of fails
Verb
  • Just past first quarter, the moon will spend each afternoon hanging in the daytime sky, becoming easier to spot as the sun sinks towards the horizon.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The 1996 Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino collaboration From Dusk Till Dawn springs immediately to mind, but, compared to that, director Samjad sinks his teeth into the meat of his movie in next to no time.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of sinks

Browse Nearby Words

languished
languishes
languishing
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Cite this Entry

“Languishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languishes. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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