Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

stagnant

/ˈstæɡnənt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.31 in modern English

Syllables: stag-nant
IPA: /ˈstæɡnənt/

9

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Lacking flow or motion, and thus usually not fresh or healthy; decaying through stillness.

adj

Without activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; inactive, stale.

Example Sentences

"a stagnant pool stagnant water"
"a stagnant economy stagnant prices"
"Their love had turned stagnant."

Etymology

From French stagnant, from Latin stagnans, present participle of stagno (“to form a pool of standing water”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: stagnant, stagnans

Inflected Forms

more stagnant (comparative) most stagnant (superlative)

Derived Forms

stagnancy stagnantly stagnation

Phrases

stagnant hypoxia stagnant ice stagnant loop syndrome

Frequently Paired Words

stagnate stagflation

Synonyms

motionless stale standing still moribund dead

Questions

How do you pronounce stagnant?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈstæɡnənt/.
What does stagnant mean?: Lacking flow or motion, and thus usually not fresh or healthy; decaying through stillness.
Where does stagnant come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce stagnant

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “stagnant”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈstæɡnənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “stagnant”.
Repeat and practice — Say “stagnant” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.