STAGNATING Synonyms: 54 Similar and Opposite Words

stagnating

adjective

as in lifeless

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagnating

Adjective

Tyronne Brazille, 50, was pulled over by police in Memphis for a traffic violation on Thursday when officers found the lifeless body of his wife, Lanessa Bradford, 50, in the passenger seat of his vehicle with a gunshot wound, WREG reported.

— Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
That’s 38 more opportunities for horrific pitching, lifeless hitting and mental blunders galore.

— Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of lifeless

Adjective

After a brief, unproductive stint with the San Diego Padres, Castellanos has now embraced a new chapter in baseball.

— Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
But if instead its excess savings finance unproductive investment at home or drive high household consumption, asset bubbles, or persistent fiscal deficits in the economies of its trading partners, the whole system becomes increasingly shaky.

— MICHAEL PETTIS, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of unproductive

Adjective

The farm system, which looked so fallow a year ago, is showing many of the same signs of revitalization as the parent club.

— David Aldridge, New York Times, 4 July 2026
In recent days, the property remained largely fallow, other than the thick underbrush and countless weeds that choked the site, which is about one-third of an acre in size, this news organization’s direct observation of the property shows.

— George Avalos, Mercury News, 24 June 2026

Definition of fallow

Adjective

For me, Sliman was pouring water on a dormant seed anxious to sprout.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Various micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts) can also lie dormant in the tissues for centuries and can recolonize and multiply due to a ready supply of organic material—particularly if the remains have been stored in suboptimal conditions.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of dormant

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

Definition of quiescent

Adjective

On Wednesday, according to the complaint, the operatives handed Bowie a gun, ammunition and an inert explosive, then gave her instructions on how to use them.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Agents make the arrest On Wednesday, Bowie met up with two informants in a car and paid $150 for a firearm (that was inert), ammunition and one magazine, the complaint alleges.

— Lila Dominus, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of inert

Adjective

There are no staffing meetings, no waiting for someone to become available and no work sitting idle because the right person is on vacation or buried under a backlog of deliverables.

— Charles Lew, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
This results in more empty containers sitting idle on chassis throughout the ports.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of idle

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

Definition of nonproductive

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

stagnant

stagnating

stagnation

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Stagnating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagnating. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of stagnating

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dissonant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes