stagnation

[ stag-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. the state or condition of stagnating, or having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow:

   Meteorologists forecast ozone and air stagnation.

2. a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water.
3. a failure to develop, progress, or advance:

   periods of economic stagnation followed by bursts of growth.

4. the state or quality of being or feeling sluggish and dull:

   Happily, they have been able to avoid stagnation in their ten-year marriage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of stagnation¹

stagn(ate) + -ation

Example Sentences

China risks falling into the type of decades-long stagnation that Japan endured after a stock and property bubble burst in the 1990s, Morgan Stanley Asia's former chairman, Stephen Roach, says.

From BBC

That message of stagnation played horribly, with the Trump campaign turning Harris' words into a campaign ad.

From Salon

The improvements will always feel small compared with the stagnation.

From Slate

She worked on the central bank's Japan desk, looking at the country's attempts to come out of stagnation in the 1990s.

From BBC

Adam Perez, the DWP’s top manager in the Owens Valley, said it’s easy to point the finger at his agency and blame it for the stagnation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sluggishness