Meaning & use
staid
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Serious, careful, and not willing to try new or exciting things, often seeming dull or old-fashioned.
Grammar: Often before a noun or after a linking verb; comparisons use more/most in modern use.
Patterns
- staid image
- staid institution
- rather staid
The bank had a staid, traditional image.
Their parties were pleasant but rather staid.
He wore a staid gray suit to the ceremony.
Common combinations
- staid image
- The brand wants to lose its staid image.
- staid institution
- The magazine mocked the club as a staid institution.
- rather staid
- The menu was safe and rather staid.
- staid respectability
- The neighborhood valued quiet, staid respectability.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sedate
- Calm and formal, often neutral; staid more strongly suggests dullness or lack of adventure.
- sober
- Emphasizes seriousness and restraint, sometimes without the old-fashioned disapproval of staid.
- conventional
- Means following usual customs; staid adds a sense that this caution has become boring.
- serious
- Simply not light or joking; it lacks staid's criticism of being unadventurous.
Opposites
Word family
- staidly adverb
- In a serious, unadventurous way.
- staidness noun
- The quality of being staid.
Commonly confused: staid or stayed? staid or stead?
staid vs stayed
Staid is an adjective meaning dull or serious; stayed is the past tense of stay.
staid vs stead
Stead means place or benefit in phrases like stand in good stead; staid describes a person or style.
Practice
Choose the best completion: The committee rejected the bold logo and chose a ___ design.
Choose one answer.
A staid design is serious and unadventurous, fitting the rejection of boldness. Stayed is a verb form, steady means stable, and steamed does not describe a style.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “staid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.