How to Use languish in a Sentence

languish

verb
  • Since then, oil prices have languished.
    — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Then the bill languished in the House.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
  • This is a chamber where bills go to languish and die a slow death.
    — The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 6 Apr. 2022
  • Then, the franchise languished for a decade.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
  • Yet both still languish behind bars.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 14 May 2026
  • But the case languished for decades until Miller got her hands on it.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But what about the long lines people languished in at customs?
    — Natalie B. Compton, chicagotribune.com, 19 July 2019
  • Illinois has languished long enough.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Today millions of refugees languish in refugee camps around the world.
    — Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby, WSJ, 22 Apr. 2021
  • Both agreed to be exiled, yet both still languish behind bars.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 14 May 2026
  • The trick is to give them something to climb, or else their vines will languish in a mildewy mess on the ground.
    — Alex Testere, Saveur, 24 July 2024
  • Thirty-three of those projects have languished on the state’s funding list for more than a decade.
    — Emily Schwing, ProPublica, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Thirty-three of those projects have languished on the state's funding list for more than a decade.
    — Emily Schwing, NPR, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Mars languishes low in morning twilight for the fifth month in a row.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 2 May 2026
  • By that time, the building was languishing.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Add a shower of bright herbs to liven up beans that have languished in a can in the back of your pantry.
    — Aliza Abarbanel, Bon Appétit, 6 Apr. 2020
  • Bogut is long gone, and Zaza’s is languishing at the end of the bench.
    — Al Saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 May 2018
  • The bill had languished on the calendar for weeks with no action.
    — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
  • The market has long been seen as ripe for growth but plans to upgrade the market have languished.
    — Kenneth R. Gosselin, courant.com, 7 June 2018
  • To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison.
    — NPR, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Indeed, agents should languish in the 1950s at their own risk.
    — Kara Baskin, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Apr. 2022
  • But all of these are either languishing in jails or under house arrest.
    — Peter Nicholas, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Wendy's has also languished, losing 15% year to date.
    — Itzel Franco, CNBC, 15 Mar. 2026
  • But there was no new trial, and Edwards would languish in prison for nearly two decades.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Nov. 2020
  • If conditions are not spot-on, seeds will languish in the soil for weeks or may not germinate at all.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The search for a new chancellor cannot continue to languish.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026
  • So instead of guessing how long your catch has been languishing on a bed of ice, look to the freezer case.
    — Amanda Shapiro, Bon Appétit, 8 Aug. 2023
  • But its frozen juices have languished along with the broader frozen juice category.
    — Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
  • But its frozen juices have languished along with the broader frozen juice category.
    — Dee-Ann Durbin, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
  • But its frozen juices have languished along with the broader frozen juice category.
    — CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026

Some of 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.

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