Standard Lemma guide

stagnation

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /stæɡˈneɪʃn̩/
  • Canada, General-American: /stæɡˈneɪʃən/
  • Colorado Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • North Carolina Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /stæɡˈnæɪʃən/
  • New-Zealand: /stɛɡˈnæɪʃən/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: S T AE0 G N EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being stagnant; (countable) an instance of this.

The state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; (countable) an instance of this.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Factors known to encourage the growth of harmful bacteria inside cooling systems include the stagnation of the water.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: restagnation, stagnance, stagnancy

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The state of being stagnant; (countable) an instance of this.

The state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; inactivity, staleness; (countable) an instance of this.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, uncountable

Examples

  • The general concern about industrial stagnation inspired an overhaul of the patent system.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: restagnation, stagnance, stagnancy

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The state of being stagnant; (countable) an instance of this.

The state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; inactivity, staleness; (countable) an instance of this.

The state of low or no growth in an economy; (countable) an instance of this.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, uncountable

Topics: economics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: restagnation, stagnance, stagnancy

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a state of inactivity (in business or art etc)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • economic growth of less than 1% per year is considered to be economic stagnation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stagnancy, doldrums

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inaction, inactivity, inactiveness

5

noun

Meaning 5

inactivity of liquids; being stagnant; standing still; without current or circulation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stagnancy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inaction, inactivity, inactiveness

History

Etymology

From stagnate + -ation (suffix denoting an action or process, or its result), Stagnate is derived from stagnāt-, the participial stem of Latin stagnāre, the present active infinitive of stāgnō (“of waters: to cover the land as a lake, to become a pool, to stagnate”), from stāgnum (“body of standing water (lake, swamp, etc.)”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *steh2g- (“to drip; to seep”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).

Across languages

Translations

150 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: رُكُود (rukūd) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Bulgarian: застояване (zastojavane) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Catalan: estancació — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Catalan: estancament — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Danish: dødvande — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Esperanto: stagnado — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Finnish: seisominen — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Finnish: seisetila — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Finnish: stagnaatio — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • French: croupissure — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Hindi: गतिहीनता (gatihīntā) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Indonesian: stagnasi — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Italian: stagnamento — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Italian: ristagno — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Japanese: 不振 (fushin) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Japanese: 淀み — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Japanese: 澱み — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Japanese: よどみ (yodomi) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Kazakh: тоқырау (toqyrau) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Korean: 정체 (jeongche) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Macedonian: стагнација (stagnacija) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Macedonian: застој (zastoj) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Malagasy: handrona — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Malayalam: കെട്ടിക്കിടക്കൽ (keṭṭikkiṭakkal) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Malayalam: നിശ്ചലത (niścalata) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Polish: stagnacja — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Portuguese: estagnação — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Romanian: stagnație — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Romanian: nemișcare — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Russian: вя́лость (vjálostʹ) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Russian: засто́й (zastój) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Serbo-Croatian: стагна́ција — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Serbo-Croatian: stagnácija — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Spanish: estancamiento — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Spanish: empantanamiento — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Swedish: stagnering — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Ukrainian: засті́й (zastíj) — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Welsh: llonyddwch — state of lacking flow or motion, usually causing a lack of freshness or health; an instance of this
  • Albanian: amti — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Albanian: kënétë — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Arabic: رُكُود (rukūd) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Armenian: ստագնացիա (stagnacʻia) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Armenian: լճացում (lčacʻum) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Azerbaijani: durğunluq — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Bulgarian: стагнация (stagnacija) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Bulgarian: бездействие (bezdejstvie) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Catalan: estancació — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Catalan: estancament — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Chinese Cantonese: 停滯 /停滞 (ting4 zai6) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Chinese: 停滯 /停滞 (thêng-tē) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 停滯 /停滞 (tíngzhì) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 停滯性 /停滞性 (tíngzhìxìng) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Czech: ustrnutí — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Dutch: stagnatie — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: pysähtyminen — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: pysähtyneisyys — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: seisahtuneisuus — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: stagnaatio — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: jähmettyminen — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: lamaantuminen — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: lamaantuneisuus — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: lamaannus — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: lamaannustila — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Finnish: ruususenuni — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • French: stagnation — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Georgian: უმოქმედობა (umokmedoba) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Georgian: უძრაობა (uʒraoba) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • German: Stagnation — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • German: Stagnierung — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Greek: απονέκρωση (aponékrosi) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Greek: αποτελμάτωση (apotelmátosi) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Hebrew: סטגנציה (stagnátsia) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Hebrew: קיפאון (kipaón) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Italian: stagnazione — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 沈滞 (chintai) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 不活発 (fukappatsu) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 不振 (fushin) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 渋滞 (jūtai) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 低迷 (teimei) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 停滞 (teitai) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Japanese: 滞り (todokōri) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Kazakh: тоқырау (toqyrau) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Korean: 안주 (anju) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Korean: 침체 (chimche) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Korean: 정체 (jeongche) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Macedonian: стагнација (stagnacija) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Macedonian: застој (zastoj) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Malayalam: സ്തംഭനാവസ്ഥ (stambhanāvastha) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Māori: houtetetanga — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Māori: patekotanga — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Māori: whakamāraritanga — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stagnasjon — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stagnasjon — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Polish: stagnacja — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Polish: bezrybie — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Polish: marazm — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Polish: martwica — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Polish: zastój — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Portuguese: estagnação — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Portuguese: marasmo — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Portuguese: mesmice — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Portuguese: paralisia — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Romanian: stagnare — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Russian: стагна́ция (stagnácija) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Russian: засто́й (zastój) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Spanish: estancamiento — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Swedish: stagnation — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Turkish: kış uykusu — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Ottoman Turkish: كساد (kesad) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Ukrainian: стагна́ція (stahnácija) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Ukrainian: засті́й (zastíj) — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Uzbek: turgʻunlik — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Vietnamese: đình đốn — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Vietnamese: đình trệ — state of lacking activity, change or progress, or excitement in an unhealthy manner; an instance of this — see also inactivity
  • Albanian: ngërçi ekonomik — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Arabic: ركود اقتصادي — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Armenian: ստագնացիա (stagnacʻia) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Azerbaijani: staqnasiya — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Belarusian: стагна́цыя (stahnácyja) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Bulgarian: стагнация (stagnacija) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Chinese Mandarin: 經濟停滯 /经济停滞 (jīngjìtíngzhì) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Chinese Mandarin: 停滯性 /停滞性 (tíngzhìxìng) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Czech: stagnace — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Danish: stagnation — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Dutch: stagnatie — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Finnish: stagnaatio — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Finnish: pysähtyneisyys — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Finnish: seisahtuneisuus — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • French: stagnation économique — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • French: marasme — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • German: Stagnation — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Hebrew: סְטַגְנַצְיָה — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Indonesian: stagnasi ekonomi — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Indonesian: kepegunan ekonomi — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Italian: stagnazione — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Kazakh: стагнация (stagnasiä) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Korean: 스태그네이션 (seutaegeuneisyeon) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Latvian: stagnācija — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stagnasjon — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stagnasjon — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Polish: stagnacja — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Portuguese: estagnação econômica — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Romanian: stagnare economică — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Russian: стагна́ция (stagnácija) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Swedish: ekonomisk stagnation — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Turkish: stagnasyon — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Ukrainian: стагнація (stahnacija) — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Uzbek: stagnatsiya — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Venetan: stagnasion — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
  • Vietnamese: đình trệ kinh tế — state of low or no growth in an economy; an instance of this
Real reading context

stagnation in complete knowledge articles