stagnating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagnating
Adjective
  • Prolonged periods of drought are scorching French pastures, leeching them of their usual lush green vitality and leaving behind parched, lifeless yellow fields.
    Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Directed by Ridley Scott, the minute-long spot showed men in gray uniforms, heads shaved, eyes blank, marching in unison toward a lifeless auditorium.
    Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Getting too high can be just as unproductive as getting too low.
    Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Supporters say shifting unproductive cropland to clean energy will help California meet its 100% renewable power goal, while farm groups warn of losing valuable agricultural land.
    Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • During the Covid pandemic, the staff voluntarily used their fallow time to repair some of the old pilgrim trails winding through the forest behind.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Another novel where the author explores how to cultivate the mind, body, home, and social circle in order to propagate creativity, and wonders what happens when any or all elements become fallow or diseased.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Consider applying an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil after pruning to smother scale and insect eggs to the dormant roses.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2026
  • This barrier smothers dormant weed seeds and breaks down into rich soil by spring.
    Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Experts believe the volcano is currently in a quiescent state, but researchers monitor it around the clock.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • For galaxies with a quiescent supermassive black hole, astronomers measure how quickly the stars tightly packed near the center of the galaxy are traveling.
    Mary Ogborn, The Conversation, 25 June 2026
Adjective
  • But nice photography is not a sturdy enough basis for a narrative film, as so many lovely but inert art-house movies have shown us in recent years.
    Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Everything Pasch needed to turn it into a television broadcast was rendered completely inert.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Quantifying the cost of disruptions — from fuel subsidies and emergency imports to lost output and idle workers — would make the case for resilience more tangible.
    Nana Menya Ayensu, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Their movements become more spiteful than woo-woo, more sculpture than painting, more an argument than an idle thought.
    Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • North Dakota adopted a bill last year requiring a legislative council to study the feasibility of using nonproductive wells to generate geothermal power.
    Maria Gallucci, Wired News, 16 May 2026
  • Returning nonproductive properties to the tax rolls, creating jobs and boosting the quality of life are only some of the benefits of redeveloping troubled properties.
    Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stagnating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagnating. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster