stagnate

verb

stag·​nate ˈstag-ˌnāt How to pronounce stagnate (audio)
stagnated; stagnating

intransitive verb

: to become or remain stagnant

Examples of stagnate in a Sentence

a puddle of stagnating water
Recent Examples on the Web The eurozone has stagnated for the past five quarters as high prices and interest rates have taken their toll, while the United States has expanded unexpectedly strongly. Eshe Nelson, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024 The $95 billion supplemental funding package that passed the Senate in February has stagnated for months in the House as Johnson has debated a path forward. Jaala Brown, Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2024 While Indiana has made progress in increasing the state's higher education enrollment this year, state officials hope the letter reverses the state's stagnating college-going rate, or students who head to college directly after high school. Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024 Bosa didn’t say exactly that the change was due to stagnating rents, just that condos were a better return on investment. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024 The Japanese economy has tended to stagnate in recent years, with slow wage increases as well as deflation, or the continuous sliding down of prices, rather than the inflation affecting some parts of the world. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024 In success, some restaurants freeze, stagnating in their winning formula. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 Residents have wanted new developments to attract more people, but some feel the efforts have stagnated. Archer Guanco, Daniel Schoenherr, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024 While consumer prices largely stagnated last year, Lardy said core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.7%. Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stagnate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin stagnatus, past participle of stagnare, from stagnum body of standing water

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stagnate was in 1661

Dictionary Entries Near stagnate

Cite this Entry

“Stagnate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stagnate. Accessed 2 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

stagnate

verb
stag·​nate ˈstag-ˌnāt How to pronounce stagnate (audio)
stagnated; stagnating
: to be or become stagnant
stagnation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on stagnate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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