Learn English – English word for something left and forgotten

single-word-requests

I once encountered an English word that describes something that has aged, because it has been left and forgotten. I am looking to use that word in a sentence now, but I cannot recall it. What word am I looking for? I'm not sure about this but a sentence might start out something like this:

It has been left to …

I come to think of "rot". But that's not right. The word I'm looking for puts a weight on the act of forgetting or leaving something behind and the aging as a result of passing of time. It does not directly answer what's happening to the object itself (i.e. "rotting"). It puts focus on the cause, not directly on the consequence.

The word has to do with objects. As I recall, the word is about 6+/-1 letters long, and it may contain the letters m, n and e.

Another possible way a sentence might start out is:

The [object] was/is [m… n… e…]

I'm not sure about the order of the letters, or if they were in the word. But I seem to recall at least one m letter.

Best Answer

The word that seemed most appropriate to me when I read this was languish:

  1. to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade.
  2. to lose vigor and vitality.
  3. to undergo neglect or experience prolonged inactivity; suffer hardship and distress: "to languish in prison for ten years."
  4. to be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored: "a petition that languished on the warden's desk for a year."
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