Word · Frequency #14532
Fully loadedlanguish
受煎熬；被冷落；停滞不前
to live in miserable or discouraging conditions; to be neglected and fail to make progress
- 1.
To lose strength and become weak; to be in a state of weakness or sickness.
失去力量变得虚弱；处于虚弱或疾病状态。
- 2.
To pine away in longing for something; to have low spirits, especially from lovesickness.
因渴望而憔悴；情绪低落,尤指因相思。
- 3.
To live in miserable or disheartening conditions.
生活在悲惨或沮丧的境况中。
- 4.
To be neglected; to make little progress, be unsuccessful.
被忽视；进展甚微,不成功。
衰弱；变得虚弱；因渴望而憔悴；因相思而消瘦；失去力量变得虚弱；处于虚弱或疾病状态。；因渴望而憔悴；情绪低落,尤指因相思。；生活在悲惨或沮丧的境况中。
In use
After weeks without rain, the plants in the garden began to languish.
He languished in prison for years before finally being released.
The economy is languishing due to the lack of investment.
languish in something
常表示在困境或停滞状态中受苦。
The proposal languished in committee for months.
该提案在委员会中搁置了数月。
languish for someone/something
表示强烈渴望或苦苦思念。
He languished for his homeland while abroad.
他在国外苦思故乡。
languish without something
表示因缺乏必需品而衰弱。
Connections
Collocations
- languish in prison
- 在监狱中长期受煎熬
- He languished in prison for ten years before being released.他在监狱里受折磨十年后才被释放。
- languish in obscurity
- 默默无闻；湮没无闻
- The talented painter languished in obscurity for decades.这位才华横溢的画家默默无闻了几十年。
- languish in poverty
- 在贫困中煎熬
- Many families languished in poverty after the war.战后许多家庭在贫困中煎熬。
- languish in a coma
- 长期昏迷；一直处于昏迷状态
- She has languished in a coma for three months.她已经昏迷三个月了。
- languish for love
- 因相思而憔悴
- The young man languished for love of the princess.那个年轻人因思念公主而日渐憔悴。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记法：与 flourish（繁荣）对比，花缺水就 languish——枯萎、衰弱、受冷落。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、literary works languish 属于较正式、偏文学性的动词，口语中较少使用。多用于书面语，表示‘衰弱、受煎熬、被冷落或停滞不前’等含义。
Grammar Note
不及物动词，后不直接跟宾语。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Anguish /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/ rhymes perfectly with languish. Language /ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/, languid /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/, and languor /ˈlæŋɡər/ are lookalikes with different final sounds and do not rhyme. Distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ shares the -guish ending but has a different stressed vowel; vanquish /ˈvæŋkwɪʃ/ is only a near rhyme (k vs g).
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.