To languish means to become weak, tired, or less successful, often because of being ignored, trapped, or left without needed care or activity.
From Old French *languir*, from Latin *languere*, meaning to be faint or weak. It has long carried both physical and emotional senses of fading strength.
*Languish* captures a very specific kind of suffering: not dramatic pain, but slow, quiet wasting away. It’s a powerful word for describing people or projects that aren’t exactly dead, but aren’t truly living either.
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