1
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
viewers were bored by the stale story lines of the new crop of sitcoms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
the sequel is basically a stale remake of the first movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stale
Usually, a midlife refresh is mostly cosmetic, intended to prevent the model from feeling too stale in the marketplace.
—
ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
The air, which has not circulated for millennia, became stale.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025
Top Chef judges dish on upcoming season 15, how altitude 'changed the game'
See, after the first All-Stars, the folks cooking up Top Chef seemed to worry that the show was growing stale.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
The traditional boardroom feels stale; wellness spaces are where the energy is.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stale
ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
The air, which has not circulated for millennia, became stale.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025
Top Chef judges dish on upcoming season 15, how altitude 'changed the game'
See, after the first All-Stars, the folks cooking up Top Chef seemed to worry that the show was growing stale.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
The traditional boardroom feels stale; wellness spaces are where the energy is.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stale
Adjective
-
Camilla told Newsweek that her husband, Linford, 32, works as a tunnel boring machine operator in London.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
-
Take it from this guy, who bought the beautiful Starfield limited-edition Xbox controller, headset, and console wrap for over $200, only to play the game and dump it after 20 boring hours.—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
17 Mar. 2025
-
Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.—
Lucy Ford,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Morales' older brother, Ricardo, confirmed his death in a post on X, formerly Twitter.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
-
In contrast, older generations started saving much later, with boomers beginning at an average age of 37 and with plans to retire at 72.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Robbins was mostly Black, a place built by Black people who were tired of racial conflict in Chicago.—
D. Watkins,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Was Michelle ever tired of using the vibrator all the time in the show?—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Ultimately, many on the internet have identified this week as a particularly tiring one for Black K-pop fans.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2025
-
Of course, going from shows to pickleball classes to after-hours jam sessions at B.B. King’s Blues Club can be tiring.—
DeMarco Williams,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The movie’s a little more hackneyed and obvious now, but its central idea is still an undeniably creepy one: possessed children with pitchforks.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Which is a nauseatingly hackneyed and clichéd — not to mention stupefyingly reductive — type of statement to make about any kind of art or entertainment, of course.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
-
And a simple chat at a Chinese restaurant, like the one between the dyspeptic Dave Moss (Bill Burr) and the weary George Aaronow (Michael McKean), might turn out to have been criminal entrapment.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2025
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Many brands and retailers, meanwhile, will have to choose between absorbing the costs in order to hold prices steady or passing them onto customers via price hikes at a moment when many are already weary from inflation and minding their budgets.—
Marc Bain and Joan Kennedy,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Of the slow, unsexy work of loving someone even in the worst times.—
Ruhama Wolle,
Glamour,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The slowest builder finished before the one who overslept.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stale. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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