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stale

adjective

ˈstāl How to pronounce stale (audio)
Definition of stalenext
1
as in stereotyped
used or heard so often as to be dull viewers were bored by the stale story lines of the new crop of sitcoms

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest the sequel is basically a stale remake of the first movie

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 stale Go through your spices and assess for flavor, and find new life for those that are stale. — Melissa Breyer, Martha Stewart, 15 Sep. 2026 High humidity accelerates mold growth, while low humidity can cause your bread to become stale or dry out quicker. — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026 While nostalgia certainly plays a role, a large reason why vintage sports apparel does so well is because the gear made today often feel so stale. — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026 Indeed, the previous template for summer movie success — massive budget for IP that the whole world has heard of, traditional marketing and then cross your fingers — felt stale and misguided at times. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stale
  1. stereotyped
  2. boring
  3. tired
  4. tiring
  5. hackneyed
  6. old
  7. slow
  8. weary
Adjective
  • Despite their outer appearances and oftentimes stereotyped personalities, the ladies embrace each other’s depths and contradictions.
    — Meagan Jordan, VIBE.com, 10 July 2026
  • This is a directed, stereotyped behavior in which the highest-resolution region of the somatosensory surface is brought to bear on the object requiring the most detailed analysis.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Definition of stereotyped
Adjective
  • As a matter of fact, this will probably be one of the more boring editions of this column.
    — Gary Davenport, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Alice’s viewpoint is boring, and anyone who agonizes about it forever will never get to the interesting parts.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • The media never tired of describing Sea Change as his great breakup record.
    — Josephine Reisman, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
  • For those who are tired of such narratives, the appeal of the show will be in its interpretive stagecraft, which is impressive and clever.
    — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of tired
Adjective
  • Swatting at wasps is a bad idea, and simply running from them gets tiring.
    — Nick Perry, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Smith, too, struggled to escape the clutches of a Burnley defence that saw Hjalmar Ekdal replace the tiring Igor midway through the second half.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • There’s some hackneyed dialogue, much of it borne by Neeson, who despite his prominence in advertising gets sidelined for most of the running time.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Maybe so, but think of how badly Congress had stated those hackneyed ideas.
    — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Definition of hackneyed
Adjective
  • Cora, 5, and Dawson, 3, died at the scene, but their youngest, 8-month-old Callan, was still alive when first responders arrived.
    — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Also on the agenda is Russia's more than four-year-old war in Ukraine.
    — Antoni Slodkowski Reuters, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of old
Adjective
  • Complex carbs with fiber slow digestion and sugar absorption, while protein and fat further delay digestion, helping to stabilize blood sugar.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Longer messages mean slower communication, so people who study error-correcting codes devise more elaborate schemes to minimize the redundancy in the transmissions while maximizing the number of errors that can be corrected.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • These short and intentional pauses from your tasks have been clinically proven to offer your weary brain a boost.
    — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Jonathan Tucker as a fledgling FBI profiler, Mark McKinney as the local chief of police, Joe Cobden as the radio station’s head of ad sales and Fred Ewanuick as Tony’s weary brother are other standouts.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of weary

Browse Nearby Words

stalags
stale
stalemate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stale. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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