stale

No longer fresh or pleasant to eat, drink, or breathe.

• The bread is stale.
• These biscuits have gone stale.
• We opened the windows to let out the stale air.

Similar words: fusty, spoiled, bad, maggoted

Opposites: fresh

Common phrases: stale bread, stale air, go stale

No longer interesting or original because it has been used or heard too often.

• His jokes are getting stale.
• We need fresh ideas to replace this stale approach.
• The show felt stale after five seasons.

Similar words: unoriginal, hackneyed, overused

Opposites: fresh, original

Common phrases: stale jokes, stale ideas, stale routine

Too tired from repeated exercise or competition to perform well.

• The runner felt stale after weeks of training.
• A stale horse may need a break from racing.
• The team looked stale near the end of the season.

Similar words: exhausted, worn out

Opposites: fresh

Common phrases: stale athlete, feel stale

To make something lose its freshness or interest, especially through repeated use.

• Repetition can stale even a good joke.
• Familiarity had staled the pleasure of their meetings.
• Constant exposure stales the appeal of the image.

Common phrases: stale something, stale the charm

If an animal does this, it passes liquid waste from its body.

• The horse stopped to stale.
• The mare staled beside the gate.
• The groom waited while the animal staled.

Similar words: urinate

Common phrases: horse stale, stale in something