stale

1
[ steyl ]
/ steɪl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stale ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, stal·er, stal·est.

not fresh; vapid or flat, as beverages; dry or hardened, as bread.
musty; stagnant: stale air.
having lost novelty or interest; hackneyed; trite: a stale joke.
having lost freshness, vigor, quick intelligence, initiative, or the like, as from overstrain, boredom, or surfeit: He had grown stale on the job and needed a long vacation.
Law. having lost force or effectiveness through absence of action, as a claim.

verb (used with or without object), staled, stal·ing.

to make or become stale.

Origin of stale

1
1250–1300; Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch stel in same sense; perhaps akin to stand or to stale2

OTHER WORDS FROM stale

stale·ly, adverb stale·ness, noun

Words nearby stale

stalactites, stalag, stalagmite, stalagmites, stalagmometer, stale, stale bull, stalemate, stalin, stalin peak, stalin's purge trials

Words related to staleness

tedium, insipidness, dreariness, drabness, familiarity, tediousness, slowness, routine, flatness, vapidity, boredom, dryness, insipidity, sameness, aridity, weariness, sterility, mildness, gentility, blandness

Example sentences from the Web for staleness

British Dictionary definitions for staleness (1 of 2)

stale 1
/ (steɪl) /

adjective

verb

to make or become stale

Derived forms of stale

stalely, adverb staleness, noun

Word Origin for stale

C13 (originally applied to liquor in the sense: well matured): probably via Norman French from Old French estale (unattested) motionless, of Frankish origin; related to stall 1, install

British Dictionary definitions for staleness (2 of 2)

stale 2
/ (steɪl) /

verb

(intr) (of livestock) to urinate

noun

the urine of horses or cattle

Word Origin for stale

C15: perhaps from Old French estaler to stand in one position; see stall 1; compare Middle Low German stallen to urinate, Greek stalassein to drip