stagnant

American  

[stag-nuhnt] / ˈstæg nənt /

adjective

1. not flowing or running, as water, air, etc.

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

3. characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement.

   a stagnant economy.

4. inactive, sluggish, or dull.

   Synonyms:

   lazy, inert, dead, lifeless, dormant

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stagnant British  

/ ˈstæɡnənt /

adjective

1. (of water, etc) standing still; without flow or current

2. brackish and foul from standing still

3. stale, sluggish, or dull from inaction

4. not growing or developing; static

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Other Word Forms

• stagnance noun
• stagnancy noun
• stagnantly adverb
• unstagnant adjective
• unstagnantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of stagnant

First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin stāgnant-, stem of stāgnāns “forming a pool,” present participle of stāgnāre “to form a pool of standing water, be inundated”; stagnate

Example Sentences

Instead, a stagnant job market and sky-high home prices are expected to keep first-time buyers sidelined.

From MarketWatch

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were lower on Tuesday amid a period of stagnant trading for digital assets, which have given back major gains in recent months.

From Barron's

More broadly, what investors must keep in mind is that Japan’s high debt-to-GDP ratio is largely the result of decades of stagnant growth and deflation, not profligate spending.

From The Wall Street Journal

What the firm couldn’t have foreseen was that demand for electricity, which had long been stagnant, would also surge.

From The Wall Street Journal

KB Home KBH -0.30%decrease; red down pointing triangle delivered fewer homes and narrowed its profit in the fourth quarter as the stagnant housing market continued to eat into the home builder’s finances.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dormant
• idle
• inactive
• lifeless
• listless
• sluggish
• static
• stationary