Word.ws English Dictionary

languid

Syllables: lan·guid/ˈlæŋɡwɪd/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/ˈlɛ̝ŋɡwɘd/

languid adjective: of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.

Adjective

languid (comparative more languid, superlative most languid)

  1. Of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.
    • [T]he ſalt of vipers is alſo thought to exceed any other animal ſalt vvhatever, in giving vigour to the languid circulation, and prompting to venery.1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of Venemous Serpents in General”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John]...
    • At first she "ran a temperature" in American parlance, and I could not resist the exquisite caloricity of unexpected delights—Venus febriculosa—though it was a very languid Lolita that moaned and coughed and shivered in my embrace.1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 12, in Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 2, page 200
  2. Of a person or their movement: showing a dislike for physical effort; leisurely, unhurried.
    • Loth was he to move / From the imprinted couch, and when he did, / 'Twas with slow, languid paces, and face hid / In muffling hands.1818, John Keats, “Book II”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 94, lines 873–876
    • A consort was found for him in the royal family of France; and her beauty and grace gave him a languid pleasure.1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XXIII, in Lady Trevelyan (Hannah More Macaulay), editor, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume V, London: Longman, Green...
  3. Of a person or their actions, character, etc.: lacking drive, emotion, or enthusiasm; apathetic, listless, spiritless, unenthusiastic.
    • VVith ſecret Checks her languid Soule ſhe chid / VVhich vvith ſuch violence never yet did flame; / Her Eyes hung dovvn; her Cheeks vvere over-ſpread / VVith bluſhing (but vvith ô hovv guiltleſſe!) ſhame: […]1648, Joseph Beaumont, “Canto XV. The The Poyson. Stanza 179.”, in Psyche: Or Loves Mysterie, […], London: […] John Dawson for George Boddington, […], →OCLC, page 287, column 1
    • I'll haſten to my Troops, / And fire their languid Souls with Cato’s Virtue; […]1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 13
  4. Of a colour: not bright; dull, muted.
  5. Of an idea, writing, etc.: dull, uninteresting.
    • [S]ome very languid remarks on the probable brilliancy of the ball were all that broke, at intervals, a silence of half-an-hour, before they were joined by the master of the house.c. 1803–1805, Jane Austen, “The Watsons”, in J[ames] E[dward] Austen[-]Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: […] to which is Added Lady Susan and Fragments of Two Other Unfinished Tales by Miss Austen, 2nd...
    • He had written certain thin Books, all of a thin languid nature; but rational, clear; especially a Book of Fables in Verse, which are watery, but not wholly water, and have still a languid flavour in them for readers.1865, Thomas Carlyle, “Winter-Quarters 1760–61”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume VI, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book XX, page 152
  6. Of a period of time: characterized by lack of activity; pleasant and relaxed; unstressful.
    • Unknown to them, when ſenſual pleaſures cloy, / To fill the languid pauſe with finer joy; […]1764 December 19 (indicated as 1765), Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller, or A Prospect of Society. A Poem. […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 12
    • Toil is the portion of day, as sleep is that of night; but if there be one hour of the twenty-four which has the life of day without its labour, and the rest of night without its slumber, it is the lovely and languid hour of twilight.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 1
  7. Of a thing: lacking energy, liveliness, or strength; inactive, slow-moving, weak.
    • languid breathing languid movements
    • [T]he ſound [of bees or flies] is ſtrongeſt in dry vveather, and very vveake in rainy ſeaſon, and tovvard vvinter; for then the ayre is moyſt, and the invvard ſpirit grovving vveake, makes a languid and dumbe alliſion upon the parts.1646, Thomas Browne, “Compendiously of Sundry Tenents Concerning Other Animals, which Examined prove either False or Dubious”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward...

Noun

languid (plural languids)

  1. Synonym of languet (“a flat plate in (or opposite and below the mouth of) the pipe of an organ”).
    • A new method of voicing flue pipes has recently been introduced by which a greater volume of tone is obtained without increasing the wind pressure. This is accomplished by making use of TWO languids in metal pipes with a space between the upper and lower languids. As may be required, a small hole...1913, William Horatio Clarke, “Double Languids”, in Standard Organ Building, Boston, Mass.: Richard G. Badger, the Gorham Press, →OCLC, page 150
    Synonyms:
    language, languet

languid meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

languid in Hindi

of a person or their actions, character, etc.: lacking drive, emotion, or enthusiasm
आलसी ālsī

languid in Tamil

ஊக்கமிழந்த, எழுச்சி குன்றிய, களைப்புற்ற, சோர்வான, தளர்ச்சியான, நலிவுற்ற

languid in Urdu

بےدم, بےحال, بےہمت, بےکیف, بےلطف, بےرونق

languid in Bengali

ক্লান্ত, অলস, ধীরগতির, প্রাণহীন
More languagesFewer languages
languid in Malayalam
ആലസ്യത്തിലാഴ്ന്ന, തളർന്ന, ഉന്മേഷരഹിതമായ, ക്ഷീണിതമായ
languid in Kannada
ಸೊರಗಿದ, ದಣಿದ, ಬಳಲಿದ, ಚುರುಕಿಲ್ಲದ
languid in Sanskrit
क्लान्तमनस् klāntamanas, ग्लै glai
languid in Persian
فشل fašal, وارفته vârafte, سست sost

Examples of languid in a sentence

  • Val watched his back, languid and slim, till it was out of sight …1928 July, John Galsworthy, “Son of Sleeping Dove”, in Swan Song, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part II, page 108:
  • Darkness fell before we reached the Belgian frontier, and on through the night our train took her languid way.1946 January and February, 'Talisman', “Bückeburg to Aberayron”, in Railway Magazine, page 41:
  • [A] Harlot form ſoft-ſliding by, / VVith mincing ſtep, ſmall voice, and languid eye; […]1742, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Fourth”, in The New Dunciad: As is^([sic]) It was Found in the Year 1741. […], Dublin: […] George...
  • Far from any thing inflam[ma]tory, I never heard a more languid debate in this Houſe.1774 April 19, Edmund Burke, Speech of Edmund Burke, Esq. on American Taxation, April 19, 1774, 2nd edition, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley...

All 17 example sentences with languid

Synonyms of languid

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of languid

Forms of languid

Adjective
comparativemore languid
superlativemost languid
Noun
plurallanguids

Origin of languid

Borrowed from Middle French languide (“fatigued, weak; apathetic, indifferent”) (modern French languide), or from its etymon Latin languidus (“faint, weak; dull; slow, sluggish; ill, sick, unwell; (figuratively) inactive, inert, listless”), from langueō (“to be faint or weak; (figuratively) to be idle, inactive, or listless”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g- (“to weaken”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives). See also the related languish. Cognates * Italian languido (“languid; languishing”) * Portuguese lânguido (“languid; listless”) * Spanish lánguido (“languid, weak”)

A variant of languet.

Words formed from languid

Questions about languid

What does languid mean?
Languid means of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.
What is languid in Hindi?
Languid in Hindi is आलसी (ālsī). See Languid meaning in Hindi.
How do you use languid in a sentence?
Val watched his back, languid and slim, till it was out of sight …
What part of speech is languid?
Languid can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce languid?
Languid is pronounced /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/.

Words near languid in the dictionary

  1. languescent
  2. languet
  3. languets
  4. languette
  5. languettes
  6. languid
  7. languid schizoid
  8. languidity
  9. languidly
  10. languidness
  11. languids

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: languid (page history and authors); languid (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languid (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languid (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languid (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languid (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); क्लान्तमनस् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-languid.wav.

Cite this entry: “languid.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/languid. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.