stagnation
Americannoun
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the state or condition of stagnating, or having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow.
Meteorologists forecast ozone and air stagnation.
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a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water.
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a failure to develop, progress, or advance.
periods of economic stagnation followed by bursts of growth.
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the state or quality of being or feeling sluggish and dull.
Happily, they have been able to avoid stagnation in their ten-year marriage.
Etymology
Origin of stagnation
Explanation
Stagnation is the state of being still, or not moving, like a sitting puddle of water where stagnation attracts mosquitoes. The root of stagnation is the Latin word for "standing water," stagnatum. The stagnation of water can be a serious problem in parts of the world where mosquitoes spread diseases like malaria, or where there is a shortage of drinkable water. There are also other kinds of stagnation, or inactivity — like a struggling country's economic stagnation or a writer's mental stagnation that results in writer's block.
Vocabulary lists containing stagnation
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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President Trump's First State of The Union Address (2018)
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myPerspectives 9.3
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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.
While the German economy is slowly emerging from the stagnation of recent years, that recovery isn’t yet self-sustaining, ZEW President Achim Wambach said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
It is the latest evidence that Europe's biggest economy is gaining strength after several years of stagnation, boosted by a public spending blitz.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Where there was stagnation, there is now investment."
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The immovability of both songs has raised questions about stagnation in the charts, and whether streaming services are doing enough to promote new music.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Political and economic stagnation undermined many black Americans’ confidence in the old tactics of the civil rights movement.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
