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

The city’s vouchers for the Community Cat Program have stagnated compared with vouchers for individuals with pets, Naitaki said, leading to explosive kitten seasons like this year. — Hailey Wang, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Intel’s relationship with DC had stagnated under predecessor Pat Gelsinger, but the company has since managed to turn its fortunes around enough to keep the lines of communication going. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026

The strike comes as both Russia and Ukraine intensify their aerial attacks against one another, while the frontlines of the war largely stagnate. — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

Traditional pay TV subscriber losses have led to declines in distribution revenue, and subscriber additions have stagnated for many streaming services as consumers have turned to other options. — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 6 Aug. 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