PLAY PODCASTS
languid
Episode 4291

languid

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day · Merriam-Webster

July 24, 20182m 0s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (rss.art19.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2018 is:


languid \ LANG-gwid \ adjective

1 : drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion : weak

2 : sluggish in character or disposition : listless

3 : lacking force or quickness of movement : slow


Examples

The trial proceeded at a languid pace as each attorney called up a whole roster of witnesses to testify.

"Of all the musicians whose work might cry out for a razzle-dazzle jukebox musical, Jimmy Buffett—he of the languid odes to umbrella drinks and beach vacations—would seem to be at the bottom of the list." — Christopher Kelly, The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), 23 Mar. 2018


Did You Know?

The letter L holds claim to a payload of words in English that connote a lack of energy or enthusiasm. Two of them—languid and languorous—derive from the same source, the Latin verb languēre ("to languish"). Languid describes the kind of sluggishness that one often experiences from fatigue or weakness ("the illness left her feeling languid"). Languorous applies more to someone who just doesn't feel the will to get up and do anything ("he felt languorous on a rainy Sunday afternoon"). There is also lackadaisical, which implies a halfhearted effort given from lack of care ("lackadaisical seniors just floating along until graduation"), as well as listless, which suggests a lack of spirit caused by physical weakness, dissatisfaction, or sadness ("she was listless for a few weeks following the breakup").

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Topics

WORD OF THE DAYMERRIAMLANGUAGEVOCABULARYWORD A DAYWORDDICTIONARYMERRIAM-WEBSTERENGLISHWORDSWEBSTER