Languor
noun /ˈlæŋ.ɡər/ — A pleasant, dreamy weariness; luxurious lassitude
Definition
A pleasant physical or mental weariness — a slow, dreamy heaviness that is more delicious than distressing. The feeling of afternoons in summer heat, of convalescence, of time that has agreed to move slowly.
Beyond the definition
Tiredness that doesn't want to be cured. Languor is different from fatigue — it is weariness that has settled into itself, that asks nothing of you and expects nothing back. It is the condition of slow afternoons.
Origin & history
From Latin 'languor' (faintness, weariness, dullness) — from 'languere' (to be faint, weary). Related to 'languid' and 'languish'. But unlike languishing (which implies suffering), languor is weariness at rest.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The heat produced a languor that made the afternoon feel suspended — as though time had stopped and nobody minded.
There is a post-lunch languor that the Italians name and protect: the hour when nothing should be expected of anyone.
She wrote best in the early morning before the languor of the day had set in — before the world had asked anything of her.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Languor” when the meaning fits your context: A pleasant physical or mental weariness — a slow, dreamy heaviness that is more delicious than distressing. The feeling of afternoons in summer heat, of convalescence, of time that has agreed to move slowly.
Synonyms
lassitude, listlessness, torpor, drowsiness, lethargy
Antonyms
vigour, energy, alertness
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
The afternoon in August was too hot to do anything and too long to waste. She lay on the grass in the garden with a book she wasn't really reading, the words drifting in and out of focus.
The dog was in the shade. Her husband was somewhere indoors doing something quiet. The world had arrived at a kind of agreement to pause.
She was not bored. She was not restless. She was doing something that looked like nothing from the outside: the specific and undervalued act of being completely, temporarily undemanded of. The afternoon was not empty. It was full of itself.
Questions about this word
What does "Languor" mean?
Languor is noun meaning: A pleasant, dreamy weariness; luxurious lassitude. A pleasant physical or mental weariness — a slow, dreamy heaviness that is more delicious than distressing. The feeling of afternoons in summer heat, of convalescence, of time that has agreed to move slowly.
Where does the word "Languor" come from?
From Latin 'languor' (faintness, weariness, dullness) — from 'languere' (to be faint, weary). Related to 'languid' and 'languish'. But unlike languishing (which implies suffering), languor is weariness at rest.