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 European sedan and SUV market is still stagnating at sales nearly 4 million short of its pre-Covid high. — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

And the Russian economy is already stagnating, even as defense spending continues to rise. — Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 6 July 2026

These unfortunately had the effect of creating a microclimate, preventing air circulation and allowing moisture to stagnate. — News Desk, Artforum, 29 June 2026

Increasingly, however, Uruguay’s camp was becoming unhappier as results stagnated. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 28 June 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