v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Languished p. pr. & vb. n. Languishing. ] [ OE. languishen, languissen, F. languir, L. languere; cf. Gr. &unr_; to slacken, &unr_; slack, Icel. lakra to lag behind; prob. akin to E. lag, lax, and perh. to E. slack. See -ish. ] 1. To become languid or weak; to lose strength or animation; to be or become dull, feeble or spiritless; to pine away; to linger in a weak or deteriorating condition; to wither or fade. [ 1913 Webster ] We . . . do languish of such diseases. 2 Esdras viii. 31. [ 1913 Webster ] Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ] For the fields of Heshbon languish. Is. xvi. 8. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To assume an expression of weariness or tender grief, appealing for sympathy. Tennyson. 3. To be neglected and unattended to; as, the proposal languished on the director's desk for months. [ PJC ] Syn. -- To pine; wither; fade; droop; faint. [ 1913 Webster ] | 
