To languish can be to lose the desire to move forward or the strength to do so.
The verb languish refers to suffering languor : weakness, frailty. He or she who languishes loses his or her energy or spirit .
Loss of strength
When a person languishes, he experiences a loss of vigor . When he languishes, he no longer has the strength or drive to face adversity or develop an action.
This verb is not very common in everyday speech, but it often appears in literature. Therefore, below we will see three examples of its use in context, to facilitate its understanding: “I see my neighbors languishing and I feel very distressed , I hope the situation begins to improve soon” , “The company began to languish when its founder decided to resign and step aside” , “Cheer up! Let's not let the party languish, it's still early!” .
The first sentence presents a situation that significantly affects a group of neighbors and, consequently, the speaker, who in this case plays the role of observer. Faced with this suffering, the latter expresses his deep desire that the problem be resolved as soon as possible. The second tells us about the decline of a company, which coincided with the resignation of its founder. This occurs when the organization does not distribute power and tools evenly, but depends largely on a single person.
Finally, we have an example in which the meaning of the term languish does not refer to the physical or emotional state of a person, but to the attitude of a group of people towards a party. In this case, the decrease in energy can manifest itself in the loss of interest on the part of the guests to continue enjoying the event; they may stop dancing, talking or even gradually go home before it ends. The effect of such an event can be "contagious" to others, and lead them down the same path until they completely ruin the party.
It affects the initiative
Let's say a man who suffers from a chronic illness and is in serious financial difficulties loses his job . Within a few weeks, he has accumulated several debts . This situation leads him to languish : he feels very tired and has no will to continue fighting. To get through this, he will need the support of his family and friends and possibly also the help of mental health experts (psychologists or psychiatrists).
A project , on the other hand, can languish for many reasons. Let us take the case of a young man who decides to call on the community to commit to defending the environment and caring for ecology . At the first meeting, fifty people attend, and carry out various activities: they clean a park, educate children about the dangers of pollution, etc. However, at the second meeting, thirty individuals attend, and at the third, only eight. The lack of commitment and perseverance of the people, in this way, causes the ecological initiative to languish.
In a symbolic sense, languishing can refer to the decline of a project or the loss of interest in something.
Different perspectives
So far we have discussed various situations in which the term languishing represents a loss of physical energy, as a result of a person's deterioration in health, but also a decrease in willpower , both individually and as a group. We have also provided examples from the perspective of the observer and of the person who suffers from such a phenomenon, and this is the point we will discuss below.
Languishing never brings positive consequences, since it is one of the steps that lead to the end, whether it be the material death of a body or the decline of an undertaking . But suffering is not always exclusive to the protagonist, but can also affect those around him. Seeing a loved one decline is for many worse than experiencing it first hand.