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/
ColoradoRecorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
North CarolinaRecorded 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