stagnate
VerbWordNet 3.0
Verb (4)
- stand still“Industry will stagnate if we do not stimulate our economy”
- cause to stagnate“There are marshes that stagnate the waters”
- cease to flow; stand without moving“Stagnating waters”“blood stagnates in the capillaries”
- be idle; exist in a changeless situation“The old man sat and stagnated on his porch”“He slugged in bed all morning”Synonyms: idlelazeslug
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Stagnate \Stag"nate\ (st[a^]g"n[=a]t), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stagnated (-n[asl]*t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Stagnating.] [L. stagnatus, p. p. of stagnare to stagnate, make stagnant, from stagnum a piece of standing water. See Stank a pool, and cf. Stanch, v. t.]
1.To cease to flow; to be motionless; as, blood stagnates in the veins of an animal; hence, to become impure or foul by want of motion; as, air stagnates in a close room. [1913 Webster]
2.To cease to be brisk or active; to become dull or inactive; as, commerce stagnates; business stagnates. [1913 Webster]
Ready-witted tenderness . . . never stagnates in vain lamentations while there is any room for hope.— Sir W. Scott.[1913 Webster]
Stagnate \Stag"nate\ (-n[asl]t), a. Stagnant. [Obs.] "A stagnate mass of vapors." --Young. [1913 Webster]