Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty.
- adjective Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Without any taste; not exciting the sense of taste; without flavor or savor.
- Without a definite taste; having a taste which from its faintness and undecided character appears negative, insufficient, or slightly disagreeable; flat in taste.
- Hence Without power to excite interest or emotion; without attraction; uninteresting; dull; flat.
- Synonyms Lifeless, stale, tame, prosaic, stupid.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Wanting in the qualities which affect the organs of taste; without taste or savor; vapid; tasteless.
- adjective Wanting in spirit, life, or animation; uninteresting; weak; vapid; flat; dull; heavy
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Unappetizingly flavorless . - adjective Flat; lacking
character ordefinition . - adjective
Cloyingly sweet or sentimental.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective lacking taste or flavor or tang
- adjective lacking interest or significance or impact
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word insipid.
Examples
-
Recently we have been ‘Christmas’ but before that ‘festive season’ whilst insipid is the closest we can get to I guess?
It Is Christmas in Ruralshire. Say It And Be Proud. « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
-
You called it "insipid"--dunno, for me, one of its charms was how it managed to sidestep being insipid.
Some Harmless Fun 2008
-
The Hijazi is a round fruit, sweet, but insipid, which is also the reproach of the Sawadi, or black grape.
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah 2003
-
The fish has no scales, nor any bones, excepting that of the middle: its flesh is very good and delicate, but in a small degree vary insipid, which is easily remedied; in other respects it eats very like the fresh cod of the country.
History of Louisisana Or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina: Containing -1775 Le Page du Pratz
-
"I wouldn't call her insipid if I were in your place," he remonstrated.
Frank Merriwell's Son A Chip Off the Old Block Burt L. Standish 1905
-
New York City, called insipid (1810), ~1~, 20 defences in War of 1812, 150
Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals In Two Volumes, Volume II 1831
-
At last an old Lady, who had three Daughters marriagable, said, she wondered to hear Mr. _Hickman_ called insipid; for she thought there could be no Reason for giving him that Appellation, unless young
Remarks on Clarissa (1749) Sarah Fielding 1739
-
Carly Flynn, who managed to be "the nice one" without being insipid, which is a tricky balance to manage (not that I've ever tried).
Stuff.co.nz - Stuff 2010
-
However I'm unaware whether any survey exists asking about John Edwards 'love child and the state of the John and Elizabeth marriage, the NBC late-night programming issues concerning Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, or nearly anything else that can only kindly be classified as insipid, dumb, moronic, my biased guess is that more Americans would fare better with those matters than they did with the just basic stuff Pew asked.
OpEdNews - OpEdNews.Com Progressive, Tough Liberal News and Opinion 2010
-
The following week he performed what can only be described as insipid, self-parody during the Super Bowl halftime.
thedayhascome commented on the word insipid
/in SIP id/ adj · Lacking intelligence, interest or significance.
August 8, 2008
super-logos commented on the word insipid
This is a truly marvelous word that captures the essence of our TV and popular magazine-crazed culture. I also think this word is just about the worst thing you can call a person and still be polite (sort of).
August 8, 2008
bilby commented on the word insipid
I'm with you, logos.
August 8, 2008
jorge999 commented on the word insipid
One evening as I sipped my tea
a fly fell in, unknown to me,
Careless and unknowing I
insipid fly
November 14, 2009
myth17 commented on the word insipid
IBM's insipid PC design.
August 13, 2012
ranjanj4 commented on the word insipid
Insipid is best suitable for my work. i am insipid toward my work.
November 15, 2018