What does languor mean?
Languor is a formal, literary noun meaning a state of listlessness, lethargy, or sluggish inactivity. It often carries a somewhat poetic or indulgent quality, describing not merely tiredness but a lingering drowsiness or dreamy disengagement. Depending on context, languor may imply something negative, such as the exhaustion that prevents action, or something pleasant, such as the comfortable relaxation of a hot summer afternoon. The word is especially useful when the mood of stillness itself is important, whether that mood is sensual, melancholy, or leisurely. Its associations with heat, seduction, and unhurried beauty also make it common in literary and descriptive writing. The related adjective is languorous, as in a languorous afternoon, and the adverb is languorously. Although understood in British and American English, languor is more characteristic of formal writing and elevated speech than of casual conversation.
nounLanguor is a state of listlessness or lethargy, often with a pleasant, relaxed, or dreamy quality. It can also refer to a feeling of sluggish inactivity or emotional weariness.
- A state of listlessness, lethargy, or sluggish inactivity.
- A pleasant, dreamy, or leisurely feeling of relaxation and inactivity.
"A summer afternoon of books, cool drinks, and open windows encouraged a delicious languor."
"The heat brought on a languor that made even the shortest errands seem burdensome."
"She lay in the languor of the garden, listening to the bees and the distant traffic."
The plural is grammatically possible but uncommon in modern usage.
"The novel evokes the languors of long afternoons spent by the sea."
Languor is the elegant word for that delicious inability to hurry—the drowsy stillness that can make an afternoon feel endless.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does languor come from?
Languor comes through Old French from Latin languor, meaning weakness, faintness, or lassitude. Latin languor is associated with langue, 'to be weak or faint,' which belongs to an Indo-European family of words expressing weakness, slackness, or weariness. English borrowed the word in the early 16th century, initially with a medical sense before it developed its modern literary associations with lethargy and dreamy inactivity.
Related word forms
How languor is actually used
Languor is formal and literary rather than everyday. It can suggest either unpleasant exhaustion or, with a more positive tone, a luxurious or dreamy relaxation; context determines which nuance is intended.
Easily confused with languor
Languor is a noun naming a state of listlessness or lethargy, whereas languid is an adjective describing someone or something that is weak, sluggish, or relaxed.