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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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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.

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: He has quite a good voice, it's just a shame they gave him a rather insipid song.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: In fact, they are becoming ever more insipid.
insipid usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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

insipid quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"insipid." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/insipid>

APA Style

insipid. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/insipid

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