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staid

[steyd]
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adjective
  1. of settled or sedate character; not flighty or capricious.
  2. fixed, settled, or permanent.
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verb
  1. Archaic. a simple past tense and past participle of stay1.
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Origin of staid

1535–45 for adj. use
Related formsstaid·ly, adverbstaid·ness, nounun·staid, adjectiveun·staid·ly, adverbun·staid·ness, noun

Synonyms

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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.

Antonyms

1. wild, frivolous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for staidness

Historical Examples

  • He achieved a staidness, and calmness, and philosophic tolerance.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • I never had the staidness or dignity necessary for a leader.

    Apologia Pro Vita Sua

    John Henry Cardinal Newman

  • There was falling into his mien somewhat more of staidness and sobriety.

    The Way to the West

    Emerson Hough

  • She looked older that summer, and there was a staidness in her manner.

    Jerome, A Poor Man

    Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

  • She thought only of women of her mother's age and staidness, who wore bonnets.

    By the Light of the Soul

    Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for staidness

staid

adjective
  1. of a settled, sedate, and steady character
  2. rare permanent
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Derived Formsstaidly, adverbstaidness, noun

Word Origin

C16: obsolete past participle of stay 1
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

Word Origin and History for staidness

staid

adj.

1540s, "fixed, permanent," adjectival use of stayed, past participle of stay (v.). Meaning "sober, sedate" first recorded 1550s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper