languor

Syllables: lan·guorUK/ˈlæŋɡə//ˈlæŋɡɚ/

languor noun: a state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid or weary feeling; lassitude; (countable) an instance of this.

Noun

languor (countable and uncountable, plural languors)

(uncountable) A state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid or weary feeling; lassitude; (countable) an instance of this.
- languor of convalescence
- Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others, I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness.1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter IV, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding...
Synonyms:

torpor
(uncountable) Melancholy caused by lovesickness, sadness, etc.; (countable) an instance of this.
(uncountable) Dullness, sluggishness; lack of vigour; stagnation.
- I rushed towards her, and embraced her with ardour; but the deathly languor and coldness of the limbs told me, that what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and cherished.1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter VI, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding...
- From languor she passed to the lightest vivacity; her temper became merry and wild in the extreme; she was all at once a tease, a tomboy, and a witch.1923, Elinor Wylie, “The Serpent in Persepolis”, in Jennifer Lorn: A Sedate Extravaganza. […], New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, book 3 (The Prince), page 266
(uncountable) Listless indolence or inactivity, especially if enjoyable or relaxing; dreaminess; (countable) an instance of this.
- It is earth's brief breathing space, after the heat and hurry of her busier time; like that repose known only to the young and happy, when the nerves gradually compose themselves, the thoughts gather into some vague but delicious train, and the eyes are closed by languor before sleep.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 1–2
- The languor of Youth—how unique and quintessential it is! How quickly, how irrecoverably lost! The zest, the generous affections, the illusions, the despair, all the traditional attributes of Youth—all save this—come and go with us through life; [...] but languor—the relaxation of yet unwearied...1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 4, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego), pages 70–71
(uncountable) Heavy humidity and stillness of the air.
- There is a languor in the air which encourages your own, and the poetry of memory is in every drooping flower and falling leaf.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 113–114
- [A] certain languor in the air hinted at an early summer.1957, James Purdy, The New Yorker, volume 33, New York, N.Y.: New Yorker Magazine Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page clxvi
(obsolete, uncountable) Sorrow; suffering; also, enfeebling disease or illness; (countable, obsolete) an instance of this.

Verb

languor (third-person singular simple present languors, present participle languoring, simple past and past participle languored)

(intransitive) To languish.

languor meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

languor in Hindi

state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid feeling; an instance of this — see also lassitude: शिथिलता śithiltā
dullness, sluggishness; lack of vigour; stagnation: शिथिलता śithiltā

languor in Tamil

மன அல்லது உடல் சோர்வு, தளர்ச்சி, அயர்ச்சி, அயர்வு, சலிப்பு, சோம்பல்

languor in Bengali

অলসতা, ক্লান্তি, নিষ্ক্রিয়তা

More languagesFewer languages

languor in Malayalam: ക്ഷീണം, ആലസ്യം, മ്ലാനത, ഉന്മേഷമില്ലായ്മ
languor in Kannada: ನಲುವು, ಬಳಲಿಕೆ, ನಿಶ್ಶಕ್ತಿ, ನಿತ್ರಾಣ

Examples of languor in a sentence

As the opinion announcements have stretched past the half-hour mark, some in the public gallery exhibit a bit of languor, but they perk up when [U.S.2024 June 28, Mark Walsh, “Consider the wild gray squirrel, Kagan rebukes her colleagues as court overrules Chevron”, in SCOTUSblog:
The languor of Youth—how unique and quintessential it is!1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 4, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego)...
The evening was mild, with a certain languor in the air.2018, Georges Simenon, translated by William Hobson, Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN:

Synonyms of languor

torpor

Forms of languor

Noun
plural	languors
alternative form	languour
Verb
third-person singular present	languors
present participle	languoring
past participle	languored
past	languored

Origin of languor

The noun is derived from Middle English langore, langour (“disease, illness; misery, sadness; suffering; condition or event causing sadness, suffering, etc.; unwholesomeness; idleness, inertia; depression, self-disgust; expression of grief”) [and other forms], from Middle French languer, langueur, langour, and Anglo-Norman langor, langour, langur, Old French langueur, languour (“disease, illness; suffering; emotional fatigue, sadness; listlessness; stagnation”) (modern French langueur (“languor”)), and from their etymon Latin languor (“faintness, feebleness; languor; apathy”), from languēre, the present active infinitive of langueō (“to feel faint or weak; (figurative) to be idle, inactive; to be listless”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g-. The English word is cognate with Catalan llangor, Italian languore (“faintness, weakness; languor”), langore (obsolete), Old Occitan langor (modern Occitan langor), Portuguese langor, languor (obsolete), Spanish langor.

The verb is derived from Middle English langouren (“to be ill; to languish, suffer; to cause to suffer”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman langurer and Middle French langorer, langorir, langourer (“to languish; to be languorous”), from Old French languerer, from langueur (“disease, illness; suffering; emotional fatigue, sadness; listlessness; stagnation”); see further at etymology 1 above. Later uses of the verb have been influenced by the noun.

Words formed from languor

languoring
languorment

Words that rhyme with languor

Questions about languor

What does languor mean?: Languor means a state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid or weary feeling; lassitude; (countable) an instance of this.
What is languor in Hindi?: Languor in Hindi is शिथिलता (śithiltā). See Languor meaning in Hindi.
How do you use languor in a sentence?: As the opinion announcements have stretched past the half-hour mark, some in the public gallery exhibit a bit of languor, but they perk up when [U.S.
What part of speech is languor?: Languor can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce languor?: Languor is pronounced /ˈlæŋɡə/ (UK).
What is the plural of languor?: The plural of languor is languors.

Words near languor in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: languor (page history and authors); languor (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); گلانی (Urdu) (page history and authors); languor (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languor (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); languor (Kannada Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-langour.mp3.

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