staid

[ steyd ]

/ steɪd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR staid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of settled or sedate character; not flighty or capricious.

fixed, settled, or permanent.

verb

Archaic. a simple past tense and past participle of stay¹.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

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Origin of staid

1535–45 for adj. use

SYNONYMS FOR staid

1 proper, serious, decorous, solemn. 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.

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ANTONYMS FOR staid

1 wild, frivolous.

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OTHER WORDS FROM staid

staid·ly, adverbstaid·ness, nounun·staid, adjectiveun·staid·ly, adverb

un·staid·ness, noun

Words nearby staid

stagnation, stagnation mastitis, stagy, stagyrite, stahl, staid, stain, stained glass, stained glass ceiling, stainer, staines

Definition for staid (2 of 4)

stay¹

[ stey ]

/ steɪ /

verb (used without object), stayed or staid, stay·ing.

to spend some time in a place, in a situation, with a person or group, etc.: He stayed in the army for ten years.

to continue to be as specified, as to condition or state: to stay clean.

to hold out or endure, as in a contest or task (followed by with or at): Please stay with the project as long as you can.

to keep up, as with a competitor (followed by with).

Poker. to continue in a hand by matching an ante, bet, or raise.

to stop or halt.

to pause or wait, as for a moment, before proceeding or continuing; linger or tarry.

Archaic. to cease or desist.

Archaic. to stand firm.

verb (used with object), stayed or staid, stay·ing.

to stop or halt.

to hold back, detain, or restrain, as from going further.

to suspend or delay (actions, proceedings, etc.).

to appease or satisfy temporarily the cravings of (the stomach, appetite, etc.).

to remain through or during (a period of time): We stayed two days in San Francisco.

to remain to the end of; remain beyond (usually followed by out).

Archaic. to await.

noun

the act of stopping or being stopped.

a stop, halt, or pause; a standstill.

a sojourn or temporary residence: a week's stay in Miami.

Law. a stoppage or arrest of action; suspension of a judicial proceeding: The governor granted a stay of execution.

Informal. staying power; endurance.

Origin of stay

1400–50; late Middle English staien < Anglo-French estaier, Old French estai-, stem of ester < Latin stāre to stand

Definition for staid (3 of 4)

stay²

[ stey ]

/ steɪ /

noun

something used to support or steady a thing; prop; brace.

a flat strip of steel, plastic, etc., used especially for stiffening corsets, collars, etc.

a long rod running between opposite walls, heads or sides of a furnace, boiler, tank, or the like, to strengthen them against internal pressures.

stays, Chiefly British. a corset.

verb (used with object), stayed, stay·ing.

to support, prop, or hold up (sometimes followed by up).

to sustain or strengthen mentally or spiritually.

to rest on (something, as a foundation or base) for support.

to cause something to become fixed or to rest on (a support, foundation, base, etc.)

Origin of stay

1505–15; apparently same as stay³ (compare Old French estayer to hold in place, support, perhaps derivative of Middle English steye stay³)

Definition for staid (4 of 4)

stay³

[ stey ]

/ steɪ /

Chiefly Nautical

noun

any of various strong ropes or wires for steadying masts, funnels, etc.

verb (used with object), stayed, stay·ing.

to support or secure with a stay or stays: to stay a mast.

to put (a ship) on the other tack.

verb (used without object), stayed, stay·ing.

(of a ship) to change to the other tack.

Origin of stay

before 1150; Middle English stey(e), Old English stæg; cognate with German Stag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for staid

New entryway plans look more Rodeo Drive than staid tropical hideaway.
Celebrities, Take Note: Anguilla Is Back From the Brink|Debra A. Klein|May 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The staid old NFL soon faced competition from the upstart AFL, which, of course, put a team in New York.
New York City Is the Storied Football Capital of the USA|Ben Jacobs|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But for all its madcap zaniness, Woke Up Lonely easily refutes the idea that the novel is a staid, obsolete form of writing.
What a Real Cult Novel Looks Like|Drew Toal|April 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
That's right, I said it: this is a landmark victory for the forces of staid, bourgeois sexual morality.
Why Gay Marriage Will Win, and Sexual Freedom Will Lose|Megan McArdle|March 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Designer Jil Sander returned to her eponymous label after a decade away with a collection that was tasteful but staid.
Jil Sander’s Quiet Return|Robin Givhan|September 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The song and the dance are broken off, never to be resumed, when the staid footfall of the lady is heard approaching.
Milton|Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh
I staid in the house until about twelve o'clock and then came home.
Hydesville|Thomas Olman Todd
Then to herself she said: This comes of shutting up a child with staid old people.
Little Maid Marian|Amy E. Blanchard
We staid a day at Manheim, and, on the fifth from our departure from Strasburgh, arrived at Mayence.
Frankenstein|Mary Shelley
But would mamma tie me any shorter if I staid away till the moon came up?
Aunt Madge's Story|Sophie May

British Dictionary definitions for staid (1 of 4)

staid

/ (steɪd) /

adjective

of a settled, sedate, and steady character

rare permanent

Derived forms of staid

staidly, adverbstaidness, noun

Word Origin for staid

C16: obsolete past participle of stay 1

British Dictionary definitions for staid (2 of 4)

stay¹

/ (steɪ) /

verb

(intr) to continue or remain in a certain place, position, etcto stay outside

(copula) to continue to be; remainto stay awake

(intr often foll by at) to reside temporarily, esp as a guestto stay at a hotel

(tr) to remain for a specified periodto stay the weekend

(intr) Scot and Southern African to reside permanently or habitually; live

archaic to stop or cause to stop

(intr) to wait, pause, or tarry

(tr) to delay or hinder

(tr)

to discontinue or suspend (a judicial proceeding)
to hold in abeyance or restrain from enforcing (an order, decree, etc)

to endure (something testing or difficult, such as a race)a horse that stays the course

(intr; usually foll by with) to keep pace (with a competitor in a race, etc)

(intr) poker to raise one's stakes enough to stay in a round

(tr) to hold back or restrainto stay one's anger

(tr) to satisfy or appease (an appetite, etc) temporarily

(tr) archaic to quell or suppress

(intr) archaic to stand firm

stay put See put (def. 18)

noun

the act of staying or sojourning in a place or the period during which one stays

the act of stopping or restraining or state of being stopped, etc

the suspension of a judicial proceeding, etcstay of execution

Word Origin for stay

C15 staien, from Anglo-French estaier, to stay, from Old French ester to stay, from Latin stāre to stand

British Dictionary definitions for staid (3 of 4)

stay²

/ (steɪ) /

noun

anything that supports or steadies, such as a prop or buttress

a thin strip of metal, plastic, bone, etc, used to stiffen corsets, etc

verb (tr) archaic

(often foll by up) to prop or hold

(often foll by up) to comfort or sustain

(foll by on or upon) to cause to rely or depend

Word Origin for stay

C16: from Old French estaye, of Germanic origin; compare stay ³

British Dictionary definitions for staid (4 of 4)

stay³

/ (steɪ) /

noun

a rope, cable, or chain, usually one of a set, used for bracing uprights, such as masts, funnels, flagpoles, chimneys, etc; guySee also stays (def. 2), stays (def. 3)

Word Origin for stay

Old English stæg; related to Old Norse stag, Middle Low German stach, Norwegian stagle wooden post

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

Idioms and Phrases with staid

stay

In addition to the idioms beginning with stay

staying power
stay over
stay put
stay the course
stay with

also see:

here to stay
(stay) in touch
(stay on one's) right side
should have stood (stayed) in bed
stick (stay) with

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staid

adjective

verb

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

Origin of staid

SYNONYMS FOR staid

ANTONYMS FOR staid

OTHER WORDS FROM staid

Words nearby staid

Definition for staid (2 of 4)

verb (used without object), stayed or staid, stay·ing.

verb (used with object), stayed or staid, stay·ing.

noun

Origin of stay

Definition for staid (3 of 4)

noun

verb (used with object), stayed, stay·ing.

Origin of stay

Definition for staid (4 of 4)

noun

verb (used with object), stayed, stay·ing.

verb (used without object), stayed, stay·ing.

Origin of stay

Words related to staid

Example sentences from the Web for staid

British Dictionary definitions for staid (1 of 4)

adjective

Derived forms of staid

Word Origin for staid

British Dictionary definitions for staid (2 of 4)

verb

noun

Word Origin for stay

British Dictionary definitions for staid (3 of 4)

noun

verb (tr) archaic

Word Origin for stay

British Dictionary definitions for staid (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for stay

Idioms and Phrases with staid