stoic

1 of 2

noun

sto·​ic ˈstō-ik 

1

capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law

2

: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain

stoic

2 of 2

adjective

sto·​ic ˈstō-ik 

variants or stoical

ˈstō-i-kəl 

1

capitalized : of, relating to, or resembling the Stoics or their doctrines

Stoic logic

2

: not affected by or showing passion or feeling

especially : firmly restraining response to pain or distress

a stoic indifference to cold

stoically

ˈstō-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

What is the origin of stoic?

The familiar phrase “keep calm and carry on” would have made a lot of sense to the philosopher Zeno of Citium, born in Cyprus in the 4th century B.C.E. As a young man, Zeno traveled to Athens and studied with the important philosophers of the day, among them two influential Cynics. He eventually arrived at his own philosophy and began teaching at a public hall called the Stoa Poikile. Zeno's philosophy, Stoicism, took its name from the hall where he taught; it preached self-control, fortitude, and justice, and that passion was the cause of all evil. By the 14th century, English speakers had adopted the noun stoic as a general term for anyone able to face adversity calmly and without excess emotion, and by the 15th century, stoic was being used as an adjective to describe that same kind of person.

Synonyms

Adjective

• forbearing
• long-suffering
• patient
• tolerant
• uncomplaining

Choose the Right Synonym for stoic

impassive, stoic, phlegmatic, apathetic, stolid mean unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion.

impassive stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression.

met the news with an impassive look

stoic implies an apparent indifference to pleasure or especially to pain often as a matter of principle or self-discipline.

was resolutely stoic even in adversity

phlegmatic implies a temperament or constitution hard to arouse.

a phlegmatic man unmoved by tears

apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness.

charitable appeals met an apathetic response

stolid implies a habitual absence of interest, responsiveness, or curiosity.

stolid workers wedded to routine

Examples of stoic in a Sentence

Noun

"That would have been to dishonor him," said Carr, a notorious stoic who was nearly overcome by emotion in his postgame press conference. Instead, he told the Wolverines that the best way to honor Schembechler was "to play in a way that would have made him proud." —Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 27 Nov. 2006

The philosophical implications of this claim are as volcanic as the emotions it depicts, for Nussbaum here counters an age-old view espoused by Stoics, Christians and Kantians, alike: emotions are disruptive and subversive to reason, they arise from parochial needs and interests and therefore the life well lived is the life in which the things of this world are left behind for a higher sphere beyond accident, pain and desire. —Wendy Steiner, New York Times Book Review, 18 Nov. 2001

Whereas Ludwig Wittgenstein once compared philosophers to garbage men sweeping the mind clean of wrongheaded concepts, Nussbaum believes they should be "lawyers for humanity"—a phrase she borrows from Seneca, her favorite Stoic thinker. —Robert S. Boynton, New York Times Magazine, 21 Nov. 1999

Adjective

My stoic Serbian brother-in-law, Aleksandar Vasilic, gave me the ultimate confidence booster of bawling all the way through the manuscript when I gave it to him to read. —Helene Cooper, The House At Sugar Beach, (2008) 2009

Grant recorded his thought-experiment when he was an old man dying of cancer, who in spite of his pain had managed to achieve a stoical serenity. —Jackson Lears, New Republic, 9 & 16 Sept. 2002

As it flew past the pole, a three-run homer, Richardson saw the stoical Berra do something he'd never seen him do. "Halfway between home and first, he was jumping up and down," Richardson recalls. "Boy, was he happy to hit that ball!" —William Nack, Sports Illustrated, 23 Oct. 2000

He had a stoic expression on his face.

after waiting six years for permission to immigrate to the U.S., the family is stoic about a six-month postponement

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And Messi, the arch stoic, was no longer able to hold back the emotion. —Jack Lang, The Athletic, 14 July 2024

In the closing section, the author throws shade at unnamed ideological adversaries — perhaps the stoics? —Claudio Lavanga, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2024

Adjective

Gladstone has come to specialize in playing close-to-the-vest types, women who can be secretive and watchful but are hardly stoic or repressed. —Dana Stevens, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024

Weekly Newsletter In place of a stoic effort to avoid the influence of emotion, thirteenth-century thinkers including Thomas Aquinas sought to use reason to direct the passions correctly, turning them into tools for self-improvement. —Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin stoicus, from Greek stōïkos, literally, of the portico, from Stoa (Poikilē) the Painted Portico, portico at Athens where Zeno taught

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

stoic

1 of 2 noun

sto·​ic ˈstō-ik 

: one not easily excited or upset

stoic

2 of 2 adjective

variants or stoical

ˈstō-i-kəl 

: unconcerned about pleasure or pain

stoically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb