Staid Meaning
/steɪd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjNot capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.
adjAlways fixed in the same location; stationary.
Sentence Examples
New Age ideas are a refreshing alternative to the staid orthodoxy of traditional Christianity.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's ____ office policies required formal dress and quiet behavior at all times.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The office had a very ____ and serious atmosphere where everyone worked quietly and focused on their tasks today.
Word Origin & History
From an obsolete spelling of stayed, the past participle of stay, used as an adjective.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Put thy ſelfe / Into a hauiour of leſſe feare, ere wildneſſe / Vanquiſh my ſtayder Senſes."
— 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 382, column 2:
"The hours of study, the hours of recreation, the sports, the pastimes, the casualties, which in the staider years of life pass without note or comment, alike are wrapped and muffled in the one roseate haze."
— 1835, [Louisa Sidney Stanhope], chapter III, in Sydney Beresford. A Tale of the Day. … In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […], →OCLC, pages 70–71:
"As for Peter, he was the happiest of the happy, and had sung and whistled so joyously while skating that the staidest passers-by had smiled as they listened."
— 1866, M[ary] E[lizabeth] Dodge [i.e., Mary Mapes Dodge], “A Catastrophe”, in Hans Brinker; or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland, New York, N.Y.: James O’Kane, […], →OCLC, page 97:
"He wondered what had become of the boys who were his companions: they were nearly thirty now; some would be dead, but others were married and had children; they were soldiers and parsons, doctors, lawyers; they were staid men who were beginning to put youth behind them. Had any of them made such a hash of life as he?"
— 1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter CXII, in Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, pages 594–595:
"I was just thinking that it's sure been a long time since you've pulled one of your great practical jokes. You've gotten downright boring lately, Cody. Staid, even."
— 1996, Gina Ferris Wilkins, chapter 1, in Cody’s Fiancée (Silhouette Special Edition; 1006), New York, N.Y.: Silhouette, →ISBN; republished Don Mills, Ont.: Harlequin, 2013, →ISBN:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company's ____ office policies required formal dress and quiet behavior at all times.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The office had a very ____ and serious atmosphere where everyone worked quietly and focused on their tasks today.