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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 boots apply rhythmic pressure to the legs to improve circulation and move excess fluid out, which can ease heavy, tired legs after a long day of walking, a round of golf or a doubles match.
    — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Two or three boot sessions per week, especially after tough training, give tired legs extra recovery.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 14 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
  • But the image that emerges here is of an already war-weary, fragile and poor country being pushed ever closer to a breaking point.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In war-weary Lebanon, Israeli strikes have intensified in response to Hezbollah drone attacks.
    — Suzan Haidamous, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of weary

Browse Nearby Words

stalags
stale
stalemate
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Cite this Entry

“Stale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stale. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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