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

The stock fell and then stagnated, seemingly relentlessly, for years, before a rebound began in earnest in late 2024.

Read more on Barron's

The stock fell and then stagnated, seemingly relentlessly, for years, before a rebound began in earnest in late 2024.

Read more on Barron's

It has stagnated alongside other software stocks in a year when Wall Street has preferred artificial-intelligence plays.

Read more on Barron's

“When you get too comfortable with anything, you stagnate.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The mayor of London has been told to "get a handle" on the capital's housing crisis as progress on building affordable homes continued to stagnate.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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