stagnation

American  

[stag-ney-shuhn] / stægˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the state or condition of stagnating, or having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow.

   Meteorologists forecast ozone and air stagnation.

2. a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water.

3. a failure to develop, progress, or advance.

   periods of economic stagnation followed by bursts of growth.

4. the state or quality of being or feeling sluggish and dull.

   Happily, they have been able to avoid stagnation in their ten-year marriage.

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Etymology

Origin of stagnation

stagn(ate) + -ation

Explanation

Stagnation is the state of being still, or not moving, like a sitting puddle of water where stagnation attracts mosquitoes. The root of stagnation is the Latin word for "standing water," stagnatum. The stagnation of water can be a serious problem in parts of the world where mosquitoes spread diseases like malaria, or where there is a shortage of drinkable water. There are also other kinds of stagnation, or inactivity — like a struggling country's economic stagnation or a writer's mental stagnation that results in writer's block.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stagnation

Despite the project’s stagnation, she continues to convey optimism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The root of London’s stagnation lies in a 1940s-era system designed specifically to curb the city’s expansion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

While it's difficult to prove precise links, she says - for example- a sense of stagnation and dwindling infrastructure can make communities feel that the political system, "is not working for people like them."

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Wage stagnation and the effects of the Great Recession are among the reasons cited by the researchers.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• sluggishness