stagnating

adjective

as in lifeless

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagnating
  1. lifeless
  2. unproductive
  3. fallow
  4. dormant
  5. quiescent
  6. inert
  7. idle
  8. nonproductive
Adjective
  • The Cubs entered the 10th inning with just two hits, but the lifeless night offensively got quite the jolt when PCA stepped to the plate.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • The juvenile green, leafy trees had vanished and were replaced by rows of thin, lifeless trunks staked into the ground like tombstones.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
Definition of lifeless
Adjective
  • In contrast, spending time involves unproductive activities, confusing busyness with progress.
    — Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Desertification is the severe degradation of fertile drylands into unproductive, desert-like terrain, stripping the soil of its vegetation, nutrients, and agricultural capability.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 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
  • Her team has dug up living anthrax samples that may have been dormant for 80 years in previous research.
    — RJ Mackenzie, Popular Science, 5 Aug. 2026
  • If your crepe myrtles aren’t receiving enough light, transplant them to a new growing location when the plants are dormant in winter.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 4 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
  • Like the Chinese test facility, the KRONOS design uses inert helium rather than liquid water to cool the reactor core.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
  • This summer alone, TSA has found two live smoke grenades, an inert grenade, a pipe bomb look-alike and a samurai sword hidden in a guitar case.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 30 July 2026
Definition of inert
Adjective
  • Cargo ships in most ports idle for less than two days on average.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2026
  • That was to avoid both leagues having 15 apiece and with uneven teams every day on the schedule having one team idle.
    — Chuck Murr, Forbes.com, 1 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.

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stagnating
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“Stagnating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagnating. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on stagnating

Nglish: Translation of stagnating for Spanish Speakers

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