ENGLISH
REFERENCE

stagnation

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced US //stæɡˈneɪʃən// UK //stæɡnˈeɪʃən// stag·na·tion

n. a situation where there is no growth, progress, or movement. You use this to describe an economy or a career that has stopped getting better.

n. a state of inactivity or lack of development, particularly within an economic or social system. Often implies a lack of vitality or the presence of structural obstacles to growth.


SIMPLE

The country is facing a long period of economic stagnation.

CONTEXTUAL

After ten years in the same entry-level role, he began to feel a sense of professional stagnation.

COMPLEX

Economists warn that without significant investment in new technologies, the industrial sector faces a decade of stagnation that could permanently reduce the nation's global competitiveness.

Synonyms
Origin

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).

Usage

Commonly used in economic and professional contexts; often paired with 'economic', 'cultural', or 'career'.

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