stagnate

verb

stag·​nate ˈstag-ˌnāt 

stagnated; stagnating

intransitive verb

: to become or remain stagnant

a puddle of stagnating water

wages stagnated

Examples of stagnate in a Sentence

a puddle of stagnating water

Recent Examples on the Web

And with economic growth stagnating, there is no easy way out. — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

One of the cases stagnated for almost seven years, only for a new attorney to pick up the file. — Samantha Melamed, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026

The rebels’ early progress north of Aleppo had stagnated, and the regime had taken to chucking barrels filled with TNT out of helicopters into crowded civilian areas. — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Fiscal, political risks French borrowing costs have jumped amid concerns over its national debt, which has swelled due to tax cuts, spikes in energy costs linked to the Iran war and stagnating economic growth. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stagnate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

stagnate

verb

stag·​nate ˈstag-ˌnāt 

stagnated; stagnating

: to be or become stagnant

stagnation

stag-ˈnā-shən 

noun