languid

/ˈlæŋɡwɪd/

//ˈlæŋɡwɪd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"languid" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“languid” is uncommon English (frequency #50,638 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,638
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-languid · languid · English

languid · rank #50,638 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,638
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH landmass

Nearest frequency peer: landmass (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “languid”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “languid” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for languid
PropertyValue
Headwordlanguid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈlæŋɡwɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#50,638
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “languid” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).languidfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “landmass” (#50,637), “Leann” (#50,639), “ladybird” (#50,635). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “languid” is #50,638. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

languid is uncommon English at frequency #50,638 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for languid in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French languide (“fatigued, weak; apathetic, indifferent”) (modern French languide), or from its etymon Latin languidus (“faint, weak; dull; slow, sluggish; ill, sick, unwell; (figuratively) inactive, inert, listless”), from langueō (“t… The correct English form is languid, spelled L-A-N-G-U-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.
  2. 2
    Of a person or their movement: showing a dislike for physical effort; leisurely, unhurried.
  3. 3
    Of a person or their actions, character, etc.: lacking drive, emotion, or enthusiasm; apathetic, listless, spiritless, unenthusiastic.
  4. 4
    Of a colour: not bright; dull, muted.
  5. 5
    Of an idea, writing, etc.: dull, uninteresting.
  6. 6
    Of a period of time: characterized by lack of activity; pleasant and relaxed; unstressful.
  7. 7
    Of a thing: lacking energy, liveliness, or strength; inactive, slow-moving, weak.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how languid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [T]he ſalt of vipers is alſo thought to exceed any other animal ſalt vvhatever, in giving vigour to the languid circulation, and prompting to venery.
  2. At first she "ran a temperature" in American parlance, and I could not resist the exquisite caloricity of unexpected delights—Venus febriculosa—though it was a very languid Lolita that moaned and coughed and shivered in my embrace.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French languide (“fatigued, weak; apathetic, indifferent”) (modern French languide), or from its etymon Latin languidus (“faint, weak; dull; slow, sluggish; ill, sick, unwell; (figuratively) inactive, inert, listless”), from langueō (“to be faint or weak; (figuratively) to be idle, inactive, or listless”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g- (“to weaken”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives). Doublet of languish. Cognates * Italian languido (“languid; languishing”) * Portuguese lânguido (“languid; listless”) * Spanish lánguido (“languid, weak”)

Antonyms

energeticvigorous

This word in other languages

lánguido(Español)languide(Français)träge(Deutsch)lânguido(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "languid"?
"languid" is spelled L-A-N-G-U-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/.
What does "languid" mean?
As an adjective, "languid" means: Of a person or animal, or their body functions: flagging from weakness, or inactive or weak, especially due to illness or tiredness; faint, listless.
How do you pronounce "languid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "languid" is /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "languid"?
Borrowed from Middle French languide (“fatigued, weak; apathetic, indifferent”) (modern French languide), or from its etymon Latin languidus (“faint, weak; dull; slow, sluggish; ill, sick, unwell; (figuratively) inactive, inert, listless”), from l... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "languid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lacoste#50,634leotard#50,642LaBeouf#50,633Lorelai#50,645

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list