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

Average incomes had stagnated for almost seven years, which led to weak domestic demand, as per local media reports. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 25 June 2026

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

Since the Fed hiked rates aggressively to fight post-COVID inflation, home sales and construction have stagnated. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 20 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