Definition of "stagnate"

To cease motion, activity, or progress:

1. (of water, air, etc) To cease to flow or run.  examples

2. (of water, air, etc) To be or become foul from standing.  examples

3. To cease to develop, advance, or change; to become idle.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Ready-witted tenderness […] never stagnates in vain lamentations while there is any room for hope.

     1826, Walter Scott, Woodstock

   • Listening to what others say, especially to what they teach, prevents our minds stagnating, thus promoting mental growth into old age.

     2003, Ernest Verity, Get Wisdom, page 434