stagnate

[ stag-neyt ]

verb (used without object)

, stag·nat·ed, stag·nat·ing.

1. to cease to run or flow, as water, air, etc.
2. to be or become stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water.
3. to stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing:

   My mind is stagnating from too much TV.

4. to be or become sluggish and dull:

   When the leading lady left, the show started to stagnate.

verb (used with object)

, stag·nat·ed, stag·nat·ing.

1. to make stagnant.

stagnate

/ stæɡˈneɪt; ˈstæɡˌneɪt /

verb

1. intr to be or to become stagnant

Derived Forms

• stagˈnation, noun

Other Words From

• stag·nation noun
• stag·na·to·ry [stag, -n, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
• un·stagnat·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stagnate¹

1660–70; < Latin stāgnātus (past participle of stāgnāre ), equivalent to stāgn ( um ) pool of standing water + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

So, when they’re not eating, things in the digestive tract stagnate.

From Los Angeles Times

Don’t those big plans look tempting now, as New York—and the nation—struggles to construct vital infrastructure from high-speed rail and subways to wind farms and transmission lines, and cities stagnate under a blanket of restrictive zoning, cynically deployed environmental law, and suburban community control?

From Slate

“Without some sort of intervention the situation will likely stagnate,” the email said.

From Los Angeles Times

She takes full responsibility for her actions, she said, but has “accepted that I haven’t been forgiven and I can no longer let it stagnate me emotionally because it may never happen and my life needs to move forward.”

From Slate

As improvements in representation once again stagnate, 2020 initiatives come to naught and inclusive films and TV series are canceled, shelved or removed from streaming, it’s easy to read Hollywood’s stated commitment to diversity as a form of public relations, intended to diffuse dissent rather than stimulate progress.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• fester
• hibernate
• languish
• stall
• stand still