stodgy
Americanadjective
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heavy, dull, or uninteresting; tediously commonplace; boring.
a stodgy Victorian novel.
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of a thick, semisolid consistency; heavy, as food.
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stocky; thick-set.
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old-fashioned; unduly formal and traditional.
a stodgy old gentleman.
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dull; graceless; inelegant.
a stodgy business suit.
adjective
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(of food) heavy or uninteresting
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excessively formal and conventional
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of stodgy
Explanation
The Queen's guards outside Buckingham Palace might seem stodgy (or stuffy and stuck-up), but they are only doing their job. Stodgy is an adjective to describe anything dull, out-of-style, or even hard to digest. Just your luck getting stuck sitting next to stodgy Aunt Irma at Thanksgiving! From the looks of her stodgy moth-smelling clothes to her stodgy or dull conversation, chances are it will be a long meal. Just hope the mashed potatoes are light and fluffy.
Vocabulary lists containing stodgy
This Is Not a Drill: Synonyms for "Boring"
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"Slam: Performance Poetry Lives On" and "Euphoria"
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The World Is Flat
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Stodgy people tend to offer some version of this argument every time a politician uses a communications medium in some novel way.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2017
Stodgy critics might compare the irreverent troupe to the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, but its real influences are the Simpsons, hip-hop and any movie with fierce women and guns.
From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2011
Stodgy Director Edward Robinson of the Metropolitan died, to be succeeded by the more liberal Herbert E. Winlock.
From Time Magazine Archive
Stodgy, flat-footed utilities aren't going bankrupt, as predicted, but restructuring to tap the competitive markets.
From Time Magazine Archive
Stodgy, stoj′i, adj. heavy, lumpy: ill put together: indigestible.—v.t.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
