stagnate

[stag-neyt]

verb (used without object)

stagnated, stagnating 

1. to cease to run or flow, as water, air, etc.

2. to be or become stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water.

3. to stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing.

   My mind is stagnating from too much TV.

4. to be or become sluggish and dull.

   When the leading lady left, the show started to stagnate.

verb (used with object)

stagnated, stagnating 

1. to make stagnant.

stagnate

/ stæɡˈneɪt, ˈstæɡˌneɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to be or to become stagnant

Other Word Forms

• stagnation noun
• stagnatory adjective
• unstagnating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stagnate¹

1660–70; < Latin stāgnātus (past participle of stāgnāre ), equivalent to stāgn ( um ) pool of standing water + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

That county, the most populous in Kansas, has seen its Democratic ranks grow by roughly 53,000 people in the last nine years, even as the number of registered Republicans stagnated.

Read more on Salon

The engineering giant said the losses, in its mobility division in Germany which provides vehicle parts and software, came as a result of a stagnated market and pressure from rival companies.

Read more on BBC

Since the start of the year, demonstrations have been held there over government budget cuts and, among other things, worries over economic prospects amid stagnating wages.

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Many ordinary Indonesians criticize the government for primarily serving the interests of the wealthy elite even as youth unemployment soars and wages stagnate.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The U.S. is in a housing crisis; rents keep rising while incomes stagnate or fall.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• fester 
• hibernate 
• languish 
• stall 
• stand still www.thesaurus.com