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insipid Definition

in·sipid (in sip′id)

adjective

  1. without flavor; tasteless
  2. not exciting or interesting; dull; lifeless

Etymology: < Fr & LL: Fr insipide < LL insipidus < L in-, not + sapidus, savory < sapere, to taste: see sapient

insipid Related Forms
in′·si·pid′·ity noun pl. -·ties in·sip′·idly adverb
insipid Synonyms

insipid

modif.

  1. Tasteless

    flat, stale, vapid; see tasteless 1.

  2. Uninteresting

    vapid, flat, banal, weak, lifeless, characterless; see also dull 4.

insipid implies a lack of taste or flavor and is, hence, figuratively applied to anything that is lifeless, dull, etc. insipid table talk; vapid and flat apply to that which once had, but has since lost, freshness, sharpness, tang, zest, etc. the vapid, or flat, epigrams that had once so delighted him; banal is used of that which is so trite or hackneyed as to seem highly vapid or flat her banal compliments

insipid Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • display: However, the insipid display against City last weekend mirrored many of those without Keane over the past two seasons.
  • version: Let's not talk about the insipid version by Britney Spears!
  • music: Suddenly the lights dimmed and there was music, terrible insipid, tinny music.
  • performance: Ireland, in contrast, came under fire after an insipid performance in Paris.
  • trash: But they sound as tho they are going to be full of a load of insipid trash.
  • play: It was not a success; the most ridiculous, insipid play that ever I saw in my life, was Pepys ' verdict.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: He has quite a good voice, it's just a shame they gave him a rather insipid song.
  • so: And in Marseilles they make an excellent dish of a common fowl, which is often so insipid.
  • very: These disks look very insipid on the Philips player in RGB.
  • somewhat: The complexion and general appearance is often defined by this, being either pale and somewhat insipid, or dark and brooding.
  • little: Pleasant, a little fun, a little insipid.
  • slightly: Christopher Hitchens A He might have thought the term was very slightly insipid, which, I'm afraid, it very slightly is.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: In fact, they are becoming ever more insipid.
  • sound: TV: This sounds really insipid, I know, but it was written by a little turtle.
  • look: These disks look very insipid on the Philips player in RGB.
insipid Quotes

Shakespeare†was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul. All images of Nature were still present to him, and he drew them, not laboriously, but luckily; when he describes anything, you more than see it, you feel it too. Those who accuse him to have wanted learning, give him the greater commendation: he was naturally learned; he needed not the spectacles of books to read Nature; he looked inwards, and found her there† He is many times flat, insipid; his comic wit degenerating into clenches, his serious swelling into bombast. But he is always great.

—Dryden,John

What a dull, insipid thing is a billet-doux written in cold blood, after the heat of the business is over!

—Etherege, Sir George

Simplicity, without variety, is wholly insipid.

—Hogarth,William

Browse dictionary entries near insipid

  1. ‹ insinuation
  2. ‹ insinuate
  3. ‹ insincerity
  4. ‹ insincere
  5. ‹ insignificant
  6. ‹ insignificance
  7. ‹ insignia
  8. ‹ insightful
  9. ‹ insight
  10. ‹ insidious
  1. insipience ›
  2. insist ›
  3. insistence ›
  4. insistent ›
  5. insnare ›
  6. insobriety ›
  7. insofar ›
  8. insolate ›
  9. insolation ›
  10. insole ›