stagnate

Verb
Synonyms: idlelazeslug

WordNet 3.0

Verb (4)

  1. stand still“Industry will stagnate if we do not stimulate our economy”
  2. cause to stagnate“There are marshes that stagnate the waters”
  3. cease to flow; stand without moving“Stagnating waters”“blood stagnates in the capillaries”
  4. be idle; exist in a changeless situation“The old man sat and stagnated on his porch”“He slugged in bed all morning”Synonyms: idlelazeslug
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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]
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