stodgy

adjective

ˈstä-jē 

stodgier; stodgiest

1

: extremely old-fashioned (as in opinions, attitudes, etc.) : hidebound

… received a pompously Victorian letter from his stodgy father …

—E. E. S. Montagu

2

a

: drab

b

: dowdy

3

: boring, dull

… out on a peaceful rather stodgy Sunday boat trip …

—Edna Ferber

4

: having a rich filling quality : heavy

stodgy bread

5

: moving in a slow plodding way especially as a result of physical bulkiness

stodgily

ˈstä-jə-lē 

adverb

stodginess

ˈstä-jē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of stodgy

• boring
• slow
• old
• tiring
• stupid
• dull
• weary
• dusty
• wearying
• heavy

Examples of stodgy in a Sentence

the sitcom was offbeat and interesting in its first season, but has since become predictable and stodgy

Recent Examples on the Web

But too often that has become shorthand for a stodgy and unresponsive sector that fails to respond to customer demand. — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 3 July 2026

Its direction is stodgy and unimpressive, and its screenplay stilted and mawkish. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 July 2026

Rashford’s inclusion was one of five changes from their stodgy goalless draw with Ghana, having played only 25 minutes off the bench across the opening two games. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 27 June 2026

That sort of living-document approach helps keep The Invite from coming off as overly stagy or stodgy. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Rhymes for stodgy

• dodgy
• demagogy
• teleology

Kids Definition

stodgy

adjective

ˈstäj-ē 

stodgier; stodgiest

1

: moving in a slow struggling way especially as a result of physical bulkiness

2

: having no excitement or interest : dull, boring

a stodgy day

3

: very old-fashioned in attitude or point of view

stodgily

ˈstäj-ə-lē 

adverb