languid

Everyday

1. Moving slowly and lazily, without energy, often in a pleasant, relaxed way. tree →
2. Weak and tired, without any wish to do things, maybe from heat or illness. tree →
3. (of weather, days) Slow, warm and calm: «a languid summer afternoon». tree →

In the lessons

Story writers use «languid» for lazy summer scenes and for elegant, bored people. In The Wind in the Willows the summer river and lazy afternoons have a languid feel. A languid wave of the hand shows someone cannot be bothered. Opposite: energetic, brisk, lively.

Examples

• The cat stretched in a languid way on the warm wall. tree →
• It was a languid summer afternoon, and nobody wanted to move. tree →
• She gave a languid wave from her deckchair. tree →
• The heat made everyone feel languid. tree →
• The river flowed slow and languid between the willows. tree →
• The bored prince spoke in a languid voice. tree →
• The princess took the note and opened it with languid indifference. tree →

Note

Said «LANG-gwid». Adverb: languidly. Related words: languish (become weak), languor (pleasant tiredness).