Synonyms

stagnate

American

[stag-neyt] / ˈstæg neɪt /

verb (used without object)

stagnated, stagnating

to cease to run or flow, as water, air, etc.
to be or become stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water.
to stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing.

My mind is stagnating from too much TV.
to be or become sluggish and dull.

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

verb (used with object)

stagnated, stagnating

to make stagnant.

stagnate British

/ stæɡˈneɪt, ˈstæɡˌneɪt /

verb

(intr) to be or to become stagnant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

stagnation noun
stagnatory adjective
unstagnating adjective

Etymology

Origin of stagnate

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

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.

Amid doubts about the future, Disney's share price has stagnated over the past three years.

From Barron's

Uncertainty over how Disney will handle CEO succession has hung over it for the past three years, a period in which its shares have stagnated.

From The Wall Street Journal

That means this year could be another one of stagnating population growth.

From Barron's

Another complication is stagnating employment, forcing policymakers to walk a tightrope between lowering rates to boost the economy and keeping them higher to curb inflation.

From Barron's

Growth is stagnating, and in Thailand the population is aging quickly.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023