languor

Languor denotes a state of physical or emotional inertia characterized by listlessness, slackness, or a dreamy, lingering fatigue. It may denote pleasant ease in the heat of afternoon, or a more oppressive debility. The term is often used to convey a mood rather than a specific medical condition. Etymology: from Old French languor, via Latin languor, languere meaning to be faint or weary.

Languor has long been a feature of poetry and prose, especially in Romantic and Victorian writing, where it signals a slowed rhythm of time, sensuous ease, or melancholic reflection. It can describe the atmosphere of a room, a season, or a character’s interior state, and is frequently paired with references to warmth, sleep, or dreamlike perception.

In medical or psychological contexts, languor is used to describe debility or chronic fatigue, and it may accompany illness or prolonged exertion. It is closely related to, but not identical with, lassitude, fatigue, or torpor. The term often connotes not just physical tiredness but a broader sense of disengagement.

Common synonyms include lassitude, fatigue, inertia, and torpor; antonyms include vigor, vitality, and animation. Languor is sometimes associated with tropical heat or a leisurely lifestyle in literature and film, contributing to a mood of contemplation or languid motion rather than dynamic action.