adjective
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of a settled, sedate, and steady character
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rare permanent
Synonym Usage
Staid, sedate, settled indicate a sober and composed type of conduct. Staid indicates an ingrained seriousness and propriety that shows itself in complete decorum; a colorless kind of correctness is indicated: a staid and uninteresting family. Sedate applies to one who is noticeably quiet, composed, and sober in conduct: a sedate and dignified young man. One who is settled has become fixed, especially in a sober or determined way, in manner, judgments, or mode of life: He is young to be so settled in his ways.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of staid
First recorded in 1535–45 for adjective use
Explanation
Something that is staid is dignified, respectable — possibly even boring, like a staid dinner party that is heavy on the important guests but light on the laughs. Staid is pronounced just like "stayed" — in fact, it comes from stay, meaning "fixed" or "permanent." Something that is staid is sedate, slightly dull, and tends to stay the same. Whether it’s a middle-class lifestyle, a conservative law firm, your unadventurous aunt, or an old navy plaid sofa, the word staid can be used to describe anything that maintains a respectable self-restraint and takes no chances.
Vocabulary lists containing staid
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Great Gatsby
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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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.
It would be hard to find a more L.A. scene than the one playing out downtown in the normally staid Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Before Ms. Parton, most female country singers cultivated staid, reserved images and achieved success with heartbreak ballads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
For some, the Treasury Department’s response only added to the sense of a typically staid market gone disturbingly off kilter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
And under Xi, Zhu's style of open, frank talk by officials has been replaced by a much more staid, closed-off approach.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
RON enters on a staircase, his side parting now super-aggressive, his robes just a little bit too short, his clothes now spectacularly staid.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
