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stagnant

/ˈstæɡnənt//ˈstæɡnənt/·adjective
not flowing or developing; inactive and slowly worsening for it
Fig. 1 — A stream runs bright precisely because it's moving — dots sliding through it, lit and quick — until a barrier rises across the middle of the water.
01Definition

Stagnant water is water that stopped moving — the Latin stagnum means 'standing pool' — and the word never forgot what happens next: stillness turns to murk, murk to rot. That judgment travels with every figurative use. A stagnant economy is not a resting economy; stagnant wages are not stable wages; a stagnant career is not a settled one. The word describes motion's absence going bad — the same water that sparkles when it runs grows foul when it stands.

02In use
  • iMosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water left after the floods.
  • iiWages have remained stagnant for a decade while living costs continue to surge.
  • iiiHe left the firm because his career had gone stagnant, advancing only in piecemeal raises that never built momentum.
03Collocations
  • stagnant water
  • a stagnant economy
  • remain stagnant
  • stagnant growth
  • stagnant wages

Family stagnate (verb) · stagnation (noun)

04Relations

=still, sluggish, static, inert, stalled

≠flowing, dynamic, thriving

05Compared
PairThe difference
stagnant vs dormantstill but alive and able to restart → dormant; still, and getting worse for standing still → stagnant.
stagnant vs stableholding its state in a healthy, settled way → stable; not moving and getting worse for it → stagnant.
06TOEFL & IELTS

An IELTS economics staple: 'wages remained stagnant' is the precise way to describe a flat line in Task 1, and 'economic stagnation' anchors Task 2 essays. TOEFL biology passages use the literal sense — stagnant water as a disease habitat. Learn the trio together: stagnant (adjective), stagnate (verb), stagnation (noun); 'remain stagnant' is the collocation examiners reward.

07Asked
What does stagnant mean?
Not moving, and going bad for it. The literal sense is standing water — a pool that stopped flowing; the figurative sense carries the same verdict to economies, wages and careers. That is the word's sting: stagnant is never neutral stillness but stillness that spoils. The scene above shows why — dammed water grows murky and green, and brightens the instant it flows again, because the freshness was in the moving all along.
What is stagnant water?
Water that has stopped flowing and begun to deteriorate — losing oxygen, clouding, breeding algae and mosquito larvae. It is the word's home image and its warning: unlike a running stream, standing water turns unhealthy, which is why 'stagnant' carries the whiff of rot into every other use. Puddles after a flood and neglected ponds are the everyday examples.
What is a stagnant economy?
One that has stopped growing — flat output, flat wages, few new jobs — and suffers for the stillness the way a pond does. The word imports its judgment: a stagnant economy is not resting but quietly declining in real terms, since costs keep rising while earnings hold. 'Wages have remained stagnant' is the exact phrase for a flat line that should have climbed.
What is the difference between stagnant and stationary?
Stationary is neutral — simply not moving, like a parked car or a stationary front; nothing is wrong with staying put. Stagnant adds decay and disapproval: it is stillness where movement was needed, and the thing rots for lack of it. A stationary object is fine as it is; a stagnant economy is failing precisely because it has stopped.
How do stagnant, stagnate and stagnation fit together?
One family, three jobs: stagnant is the adjective (a stagnant economy), stagnate the verb (wages stagnate), stagnation the noun (a decade of stagnation). Economics also welds stagnation to inflation for the portmanteau stagflation — the grim mix of a flat economy and rising prices. Learn the trio together; IELTS rewards 'economic stagnation' and 'wages stagnated' as precise upgrades over 'no growth'.