adjective
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of a settled, sedate, and steady character
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rare permanent
Related Words
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.
Staid and serious, Mr. Lee often appears more at ease in the background, quietly working the bureaucracy, than in the spotlight.
From New York Times • May 6, 2022
Staid, technical ads for the Bushmaster were replaced by an aggressive marketing campaign targeting young men admiring of the military, known in the trade as “couch commandos.”
From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2022
Staid Wolfsburg, Volkswagen’s home, was not the best place for the automaker to mount a defense against Silicon Valley challengers keen to upend the car industry, and he needed to move.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2017
Staid during the season and stultifying offseason, Montreux is a natural haven for a genius with billowing dreams and a narrowing future.
From Time Magazine Archive
Staid girls love men with a dash—a dash of bravery, self-reliance, or even of recklessness.
From Girlhood and Womanhood The Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes by Tytler, Sarah
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.
