insipid
[in-sip-id]
- without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.
- without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland: a rather insipid soup.
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Origin of insipid
Synonyms
See more synonyms for insipid on Thesaurus.com1, 2. flat, dull, uninteresting. 2. tasteless, bland.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for insipid
Contemporary Examples
When I saw it listed on the contents page, I thought, “Why would he write about a song that insipid?”
This time, long-suffering conservatives endured nothing embarrassing or bizarre, insipid, or outlandish.
Other foods that came canned, including more limp, insipid vegetables, overly syrupy fruits, and sloppy stews were equally gross.
The insipid GOP chairman, Michael Steele, blamed Scozzafava for endorsing the Democratic candidate, Bill Owen.
Dispense with all the insipid government meddling and let the market decide what happens to Wall Street from this point forward.
Historical Examples
His flesh when boiled tastes like veal, only it is not so insipid.
The History of LouisianaLe Page Du Pratz
This savours of originality, at least, and is just as insipid, if not more.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
It was not so very bad; It had no particular flavor, only the insipid taste of dough.
The DownfallEmile Zola
The insipid odour of the meat, the pungent smell of the tripe exasperated him.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
To be sure they do, said Ctesippus; and they speak coldly of the insipid and cold dialectician.
EuthydemusPlato
insipid
- lacking spirit; boring
- lacking taste; unpalatable
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin insipidus, from in- 1 + sapidus full of flavour, sapid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for insipid
adj.
1610s, "without taste or perceptible flavor," from French insipide (16c.), from Late Latin inspidus "tasteless," from Latin in- "not" (see in- (1)) + sapidus "tasty," from sapere "have a taste" (also "be wise;" see sapient). Figurative meaning "uninteresting, dull" first recorded 1640s, but it was also a secondary sense in Medieval Latin.
In ye coach ... went Mrs. Barlow, the King's mistress and mother to ye Duke of Monmouth, a browne, beautifull, bold, but insipid creature. [John Evelyn, diary, Aug. 18, 1649]
Related: Insipidly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper