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
Pockets of regular-season excellence and high-flying offenses have sustained his 15-year tenure, but Luka Garza and Keegan Murray aren’t walking back through that door, and the entire program feels stale.
—
Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
But most of the conversation afterward centered around the joyful arena crowd, which sang along to song after song, danced during breaks in the action and enlivened what could easily have been simply a stale spectacle.
—Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2025
How close is Dylan to snapping like a stale pretzel rod?
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Dirty diapers are left on the living room floor as well as toys, clothes and stale food.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stale
Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
But most of the conversation afterward centered around the joyful arena crowd, which sang along to song after song, danced during breaks in the action and enlivened what could easily have been simply a stale spectacle.
—Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2025
How close is Dylan to snapping like a stale pretzel rod?
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Dirty diapers are left on the living room floor as well as toys, clothes and stale food.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stale
Adjective
-
Literature that doesn’t contain its own version of this deal—literature that tries to freeze-frame reality instead of transmuting it—is often boring, even alienating.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Then Saturday, Columbus sputtered to a disappointing (and boring) scoreless draw at home against the Houston Dynamo, one of the weakest MLS teams.—
Andrew King,
Axios,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
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Founded by artists who grew up in Maryvale, Salcido said the purpose of Labor is to be the bridge that shows the artistic capacity and potential of Maryvale because the neighborhood is too often stereotyped, underrepresented and ignored.—
David Ulloa Jr,
The Arizona Republic,
6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Every year in the US, there are approximately 35,000 ER visits due to unintentional medication overdoses among children under 5 years old.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN,
1 Mar. 2025
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The other part of him, the innie, is for all intents and purposes 2 1/2 years old.—
Gary Levin,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar. 2025
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Selections from the trio’s synth-heavy mid-Eighties years sound sturdier than ever within the grand sweep of Rush 50, defying the tired rock-purist take that the trio strayed too far during this period.—
Hank Shteamer,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Follow the money: The stock market, for one, is tiring of such shenanigans.—
Felix Salmon,
Axios,
7 Mar. 2025
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In Aurora, voters seem to be tiring of two-term incumbent Republican Richard Irvin, who was the top vote getter but got just 38%.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 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
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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
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Americans have grown weary; not just of the news, but also of the entire miserable chore of learning about it.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
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That reputation began in 70 C.E. when the mineral springs were directed into a massive bathhouse for weary Roman soldiers.—
Cat Sposato,
AFAR Media,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Keeling had discovered what became known as the Keeling Curve – the slow rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that was causing global warming.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA TODAY,
19 Mar. 2025
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Plan For Possible Delays: Given the potential for slower processing, apply well before needing benefits.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stale. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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