languid

Languid is an adjective used to describe a person, movement, or atmosphere characterized by a lack of energy, spirit, or vitality. It can refer to physical slowness or to a mood marked by listlessness and inertia. A person may have languid movements, speaking in a languid voice, or a day may feel languid in the heat, with little activity or enthusiasm.

Related forms include languidly (adverb) and languidness or languor (noun). It is derived from Latin languere “to be faint, to be weak,” via Old French languide, and is first attested in English in the 14th century. Languid is closely related to languor, though languor emphasizes a more profound or persistent weariness.

Usage notes: The term often carries a soft, poetic connotation, sometimes romantic or aesthetic, rather than clinical. It is frequently used in literary description of summers, heat, or exhausted landscapes. Synonyms include lethargic, listless, spiritless, sluggish, and indolent; antonyms include energetic, vigorous, brisk, animated. Example sentences: “She walked with a languid grace” and “The afternoon wore on in languid heat.”