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Synonym Chooser

How is the word stolid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of stolid are apathetic, impassive, phlegmatic, and stoic. While all these words mean "unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion," stolid implies a habitual absence of interest, responsiveness, or curiosity.

stolid workers wedded to routine

In what contexts can apathetic take the place of stolid?

The synonyms apathetic and stolid are sometimes interchangeable, but apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness.

charitable appeals met an apathetic response

When would impassive be a good substitute for stolid?

While in some cases nearly identical to stolid, impassive stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression.

met the news with an impassive look

When could phlegmatic be used to replace stolid?

While the synonyms phlegmatic and stolid are close in meaning, phlegmatic implies a temperament or constitution hard to arouse.

a phlegmatic man unmoved by tears

Where would stoic be a reasonable alternative to stolid?

The meanings of stoic and stolid largely overlap; however, stoic implies an apparent indifference to pleasure or especially to pain often as a matter of principle or self-discipline.

was resolutely stoic even in adversity

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 stolid Blink Twice nods at a tangle of different contemporary ailments: lifestyle fetishism, wellness hedonism, our obscene fealty to stolid tech bros and their untrammeled wealth. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2024 Its plot is as clever as its imagination is stolid, its subjects are as serious as its approach to them is bland. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024 Allies say Starmer’s stolid exterior hides a steely ambition and a determination to win. Jill Lawless, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2024 Chris is young and eager to impress; Duncan, who’s being reluctantly put out to pasture after this last mission, is jokey and irreverent (not a stretch for Harrelson); and Dave is ultra-serious, conveying authority through his stolid demeanor. Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for stolid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stolid
Adjective
  • In their place were mostly blank walls and eggshell hues.
    Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • And for several seemingly interminable minutes, POTUS is absent, his video screen in the Situation Room a blank square.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Maybe masculinity still does mean taking care of and protecting your partner, being the breadwinner and remaining stoic all the same.
    Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
  • During his first postgame press conference at UNC, Bill Belichick maintained the stoic demeanor that became synonymous with his lengthy run with the New England Patriots.
    Staff, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • She is described, variously, as quirky, impassive, naive, vulgar, blithely optimistic.
    Judy Berman, Time, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Schuyler was impassive and outwardly calm, but in his very calm projected a certain vulnerability.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Bale ran to the corner of the pitch, and, having been an expressionless bystander for much of the evening, shouted in ecstasy.
    Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022
  • The company poured $10 billion into its Reality Labs division last year, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized last week after posting a selfie that showed an expressionless version of his avatar in front of the Eiffel Tower.
    Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2022
Adjective
  • Acclaimed country musician Orville Peck will make his film debut in Street Fighter as the enigmatic Vega, a masked fighter with a freaky set of Freddy Krueger claws.
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
  • One of Al Pacino’s finest performances of the 1970s — which, with the Godfather films and Serpico, is an absurd hot hand — is as the enigmatic, wild-eyed Sonny, a man who performs a desperate bank robbery with his partner (the late John Cazale, by turns heartbreakingly clueless and dopily funny).
    Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Not at all motionless essence, but endless motion.
    Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The video, which bears a watermark suggesting it was livestreamed on the video platform Kick, showed Jackson straddling Smith before repeatedly punching him in the face and the side of his head, even when Smith was lying motionless.
    Ben Morse, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • DeSantis appointed his former Chief of Staff James Uthmeier to the vacant attorney general post in February, giving him an incumbent-like advantage for the 2026 election even though voters did not pick him for the job.
    Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Even Roosevelt, the city’s most cherished school, has been vacant since 2019 and fallen into disrepair.
    Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Stolid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stolid. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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