1
a
: devoid of or abstaining from motion
b
archaic
: sedentary
c
: not effervescent
still wine
d(1)
: of, relating to, or being a static photograph as contrasted with a motion picture
(2)
: designed for taking still photographs
a still camera
(3)
: engaged in taking still photographs
a still photographer
stillness
noun
stilled; stilling; stills
: to become motionless or silent : quiet
2
: to arrest the motion of
3
: silence
1
: without motion
sit still
2
3
—used as a function word to indicate the continuance of an action or condition
still lives there
drink it while it's still hot
4
: in spite of that : nevertheless
those who take the greatest care still make mistakes
5
a
: even sense 1b
a still more difficult problem
heavier still
b
: yet sense 1a
has still to be recognized
1
2
: apparatus used in distillation comprising either the chamber in which the vaporization is carried out or the entire equipment
Synonyms
Adjective
Verb (1)
Adverb
Noun (1)
Examples of still in a Sentence
Adjective
The cat twitched slightly, and then was still.
Everyone had left, and the house was finally still.
a class in still photography
They had still and fizzy drinks.
Verb (1)
it seemed as though nothing could still the fighting
reading a book helps me to relax and still my mind before going to bed
the conversation was abruptly stilled by a loud crash from the next room
Adverb
Sit still. It'll just take a minute.
the cat sat absolutely still, watching as the mouse began to make its way across the floor
Noun (1)
in the still of the forest he could relax and forget his worries
a loud noise shattered the still of the night
Recent Examples on the Web
PCMAG, 16 May 2024
On the stillest nights, at nine o'clock, Major Anderson could hear the great bells in the distant witch-cap spire of St. Michael's Church, bastion of Charleston society where planters displayed rank by purchasing pews.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
Cronenberg, whose portfolio includes work as a still photographer on dozens of film and TV productions, shot the film in Hamilton, Ontario, with a cast including Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Firing, and the shape and size of the still head are also admitted as modifying influences upon character.
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The elegant sounds of works by Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff echoed in the still arena.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024
Image: OpenAI The model can also generate a video based on a still image, as well as fill in missing frames on an existing video or extend it.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2024
The video quality is about on par with the still images.
—Sarah Lord, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024
That afternoon, however, Hodges joined the crowd massing in the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, as shown in a still image from a publicly available video, the agent said in the complaint.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 2 Feb. 2024
Becky Sullivan, NPR, 24 May 2024
Yet the firm warns that Chinese producers will still be able to generate comfortable margins at those tariff levels.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 24 May 2024
For one thing, several are still a long way from the finish line.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 May 2024
Keep scrolling to find more favorites while they're still discounted.
—Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
There are still reasons for optimism in College Park.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Her students will still be regularly evaluated using a report created by the district, but it’s based only on a teacher’s observations, rather than a timed test.
—Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
The rooms are equally alluring, made with minimalistic designs but still with all the right high-end touches to make a stay feel special.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2024
Remarkably, most of the network’s 2024 graduates have earned a full associate degree or certification while still in high school, a feat unmatched by traditional educational institutions.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
PCMAG, 21 May 2024
The incident occurred on March 23 at Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles district of the park, NPS said this week while releasing stills of the suspects from a trail camera video.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 16 May 2024
The heat enters the picture on the palate, however, but those sweet candy notes stills shine, along with raspberry, bright citrus, vanilla bean, and buttery frosting.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 May 2024
The incident took place between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Police were looking to identify the two suspects in the photo stills.
—The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2024
The distillery is also the joint largest in Scotland, with an incredible capacity of 21 million liters per year via 43 stills!
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
Related article The wild, remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry
Alchemical ambience
Across the courtyard, the new still room resembles a vast industrial greenhouse with four shiny new copper stills as its exotic plants.
—Angus MacKinnon, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Cartoon generators spin up New Yorker–style illustrations and vivid anime stills.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
Carney’s memorandum retold Laube’s sad life and contained stills from Laube’s attack on Tristan.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
The French study identified climate change as the most likely cause of stilling over central Asia, which means Ren's modeling could well foretell a less productive future for wind power in China.
—Peter Fairley, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2010
An in-the-know friend in London told me that the day after the video was released, the rumor mills were stilled.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
There's a touching scene between them where Lan asks if Moiraine has ever thought about suicide, as most Aes Sedai who are stilled end up killing themselves.
—Alex Raiman, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2023
The stilling subplot is entirely an invention of the show's.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
The first is the more in-universe one: few Aes Sedai have ever bothered studying the effects of being stilled.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
But the impractical value is likely larger; to be in the presence of a giant is for some reason calming—the air felt tranquil here, the sunlight scattered, the wind stilled.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2023
His device sees what no naked human eye can apprehend: a bright white vortex of time elapsed, frame upon frame upon frame, at once stilled and in motion.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Adjective
On windy nights, the S50 automatically rejects a higher percentage of images than on a still night.
—PCMAG, 16 May 2024
On the stillest nights, at nine o'clock, Major Anderson could hear the great bells in the distant witch-cap spire of St. Michael's Church, bastion of Charleston society where planters displayed rank by purchasing pews.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
Cronenberg, whose portfolio includes work as a still photographer on dozens of film and TV productions, shot the film in Hamilton, Ontario, with a cast including Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Firing, and the shape and size of the still head are also admitted as modifying influences upon character.
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The elegant sounds of works by Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff echoed in the still arena.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024
Image: OpenAI The model can also generate a video based on a still image, as well as fill in missing frames on an existing video or extend it.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2024
The video quality is about on par with the still images.
—Sarah Lord, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024
That afternoon, however, Hodges joined the crowd massing in the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, as shown in a still image from a publicly available video, the agent said in the complaint.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 2 Feb. 2024
Adverb
But in college sports, where athletes aren't considered employees, no such bargaining agreements exist — meaning the NCAA is still exposed to antitrust litigation.
—Becky Sullivan, NPR, 24 May 2024
Yet the firm warns that Chinese producers will still be able to generate comfortable margins at those tariff levels.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 24 May 2024
For one thing, several are still a long way from the finish line.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 May 2024
Keep scrolling to find more favorites while they're still discounted.
—Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024
There are still reasons for optimism in College Park.
—Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024
Her students will still be regularly evaluated using a report created by the district, but it’s based only on a teacher’s observations, rather than a timed test.
—Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
The rooms are equally alluring, made with minimalistic designs but still with all the right high-end touches to make a stay feel special.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2024
Remarkably, most of the network’s 2024 graduates have earned a full associate degree or certification while still in high school, a feat unmatched by traditional educational institutions.
—Brianna Kamienski, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
Noun
In practice, video clips look just as unimpressive as the stills.
—PCMAG, 21 May 2024
The incident occurred on March 23 at Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles district of the park, NPS said this week while releasing stills of the suspects from a trail camera video.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 16 May 2024
The heat enters the picture on the palate, however, but those sweet candy notes stills shine, along with raspberry, bright citrus, vanilla bean, and buttery frosting.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 May 2024
The incident took place between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Police were looking to identify the two suspects in the photo stills.
—The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2024
The distillery is also the joint largest in Scotland, with an incredible capacity of 21 million liters per year via 43 stills!
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
Related article The wild, remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry
Alchemical ambience
Across the courtyard, the new still room resembles a vast industrial greenhouse with four shiny new copper stills as its exotic plants.
—Angus MacKinnon, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Cartoon generators spin up New Yorker–style illustrations and vivid anime stills.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
Carney’s memorandum retold Laube’s sad life and contained stills from Laube’s attack on Tristan.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Moiraine was captured by the Dark One and either stilled or shielded to keep her from channeling, leaving her in a tight spot.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
The French study identified climate change as the most likely cause of stilling over central Asia, which means Ren's modeling could well foretell a less productive future for wind power in China.
—Peter Fairley, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2010
An in-the-know friend in London told me that the day after the video was released, the rumor mills were stilled.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
There's a touching scene between them where Lan asks if Moiraine has ever thought about suicide, as most Aes Sedai who are stilled end up killing themselves.
—Alex Raiman, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2023
The stilling subplot is entirely an invention of the show's.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
The first is the more in-universe one: few Aes Sedai have ever bothered studying the effects of being stilled.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
But the impractical value is likely larger; to be in the presence of a giant is for some reason calming—the air felt tranquil here, the sunlight scattered, the wind stilled.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2023
His device sees what no naked human eye can apprehend: a bright white vortex of time elapsed, frame upon frame upon frame, at once stilled and in motion.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'still.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near still
Cite this Entry
“Still.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/still. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
still
3 of 5 adverb1
: without motion
sit still
2
: up to this or that time
still lives there
while it's still hot
3
: in spite of that : nevertheless
those who take care can still make mistakes
4
a
: even entry 3 sense 4
a still more difficult problem
b
: beyond this : in addition, yet
won still another tournament
still
4 of 5 noun1
2
: a still photograph
still
5 of 5 noun1
2
: a device used in distillation
Etymology
Adjective
Old English stille "not moving"
Noun
from earlier still (verb) "to distill," from Middle English stillen, a shortened form of distillen "to distill"
Biographical Definition
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