LANGUISHES Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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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 Mars languishes low in morning twilight for the fifth month in a row. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 2 May 2026 However, more volatility could be in store as bitcoin languishes more than 30% below its record high and nerves linger about the yen carry trade. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025 Ditto for his team’s penalty kill, which languishes in the Eastern Conference basement. — Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2026 In the second, supply balloons while demand languishes, which could happen if, for example, the AI bubble pops. — Big Think, 22 Apr. 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 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 That blueprint has since become a template for developers eager to cultivate exclusivity while testing pricing in private and avoiding the public scrutiny of how many days a home languishes on the open market. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2025 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

Verb

As the glimmer of June’s full Strawberry Moon fades into the night, darker evenings allow for a better view of the Milky Way along with other celestial bodies.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Then, just as suddenly, the din fades away, the focus shifts and the election process is forgotten until the next round of howling protest.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of fades

Verb

When the dollar weakens, commodity prices expressed in dollars tend to rise to maintain purchasing power parity for buyers operating in other currencies.

— Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
But the corresponding upheaval is still catastrophic for any surrounding planets, which either get swallowed up by the expanding star, or drift into wider orbits as the star’s gravity weakens—some are flung out from the system entirely.

— Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 1 July 2026

Definition of weakens

Verb

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
As a result, the tournament typically sags in the middle, as neither comes close to losing.

— Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 27 May 2026

Definition of sags

Verb

That water supply is not the same water supply that goes toward agriculture, which accounts for a huge portion of the water used in the country, Anisfeld said.

— Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Sanders identifies a real free-rider problem, even if his solution goes much too far.

— James Broughel, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

Definition of goes

Verb

But too often that has become shorthand for a stodgy and unresponsive sector that fails to respond to customer demand.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Standard sonar often fails in shallow waters, while cameras are blinded by shifting sands and the simple distortion of rolling ocean waves.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026

Definition of fails

Verb

This formula quickly sinks into my skin, eliminating the issue.

— Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
From the laundry room to the kitchen countertops to the bathroom sinks to the light fixtures, Natalie Randolph's first new house is starting to feel like home, and that is a good feeling.

— Noel Brennan, CBS News, 16 June 2026

Definition of sinks

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“Languishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/languishes. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of languishes

verb

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