STAGNATION Synonyms: 19 Similar and Opposite Words

stagnation

noun

Definition of stagnation

as in recession

a lack of activity or development and especially economic development After years of economic stagnation, employment numbers began to rise.

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of stagnation Tired of stagnation, Britons were impatient for better times and hoped Labour could provide them. — Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 22 June 2026 Change the water in the container every few days to prevent stagnation and ensure that the cuttings have a constant supply of oxygen. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 15 June 2026 Economists expect data for May will affirm broad stagnation. — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 15 June 2026 Even stable population trends can be cast as stagnation to be avoided at all costs. — Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for stagnation

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stagnation

Noun

Shriver used her time in Sacramento to revamp the state history museum, build the world’s largest Women’s Conference and launch a program during the recession to provide low-income working families with financial resources.

— Jenny Jarvie Follow, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
But there are hidden masses among us who need only catch a glimpse of its college-Photoshop cover art—a Statue of Liberty with her dress hiked up, dancing like the recession had just been declared over—to feel an instant shiver of pathos and pain.

— Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 5 July 2026

Definition of recession

Noun

Not bad considering his fight to find feel after missing most of last year with injuries and enduring a five-start slump from the end of May through the middle of June.

— Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
Gains in shares of chipmakers helped global markets bounce back from a slump at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran this year.

— John Towfighi, CNN Money, 9 July 2026

Definition of slump

Noun

That occurs along a very typical-looking site that has a roughly 2,000 meter depression at the location of spreading, flanked by a series of rugged ridges.

— John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
In 2019, the agency approved Johnson & Johnson’s Spravato, an esketamine nasal spray, for treatment-resistant depression in adults (it was later OK’d as a standalone depression treatment).

— Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 8 July 2026

Definition of depression

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stagnating

stagnation

stagnations

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“Stagnation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stagnation. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of stagnation

noun

Example Sentences

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