stale
gb/stˈeɪl/ us/stˈeɪl/
A2
Anglais
~ 9300
Sens
0 sens
adjective
A2
property
1
no longer fresh (food or drink)
Describes food or drink that is old and not fresh anymore, so it does not taste or smell good.
Schéma d’usage :
stale [bread/food/drink/snack]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes use stale when they mean rotten or spoiled. Stale food usually tastes or smells worse and may be dry or hard, but it is not always dangerous. Rotten or spoiled food is unsafe to eat.
Synonymes
old (More general; can describe anything that has existed for a long time, while stale is mainly used for food and drink that are not fresh.)
Antonymes
fresh (Describes food or drink that is new, recently made, and pleasant to eat or drink, the opposite of stale.)
Collocations
stale bread
|stale cake
|stale biscuits
|stale chips
|stale beer
|go stale
Thèmes
food
|daily life
|health
|food_drink
|daily_life
Exemples
- The bread was already stale by the next morning.
- I hate it when the popcorn goes stale before the movie is over.
- There is some stale cake on the counter if you are really hungry.
- The beer tasted flat and stale after being left open all night.
- She threw away the stale biscuits and baked a new batch.
Exemples pédagogiques
- This bread is stale and very hard to eat.
- The chips went stale because the bag was open.
- He drank the soda, but it was stale and had no bubbles.
- We found some stale cookies in the cupboard.
- She does not like stale food.
adjective
B1
property
2
boring or unoriginal from overuse
Describes a joke, idea, or way of doing something that feels boring because it has been used many times before.
Schéma d’usage :
stale [joke/idea/routine/content]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may use only boring and not realize that stale suggests something was interesting before but is now boring because it has been repeated too many times. Stale is less about being slow or difficult and more about being overused.
Synonymes
boring (A very general word for not interesting; stale adds the idea that something is boring because it has been repeated or seen too often.)
Antonymes
fresh (Describes ideas or entertainment that are new, original, and interesting, the opposite of stale in this sense.)
Collocations
stale joke
|stale routine
|stale idea
|stale content
|stale formula
Thèmes
entertainment
|work
|emotions
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- His stand-up act is full of stale jokes everyone has heard before.
- The show relies on a stale formula and offers nothing new.
- She quit her job because the work felt routine and stale.
- Critics complained that the sequel had a stale plot.
- The campaign tried to appeal to young voters but its message sounded stale.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The movie was okay, but the story felt stale.
- I am tired of his stale jokes.
- Her lessons became stale, so the students lost interest.
- They want fresh ideas, not the same stale plan.
- The TV show is fun, but the jokes are getting stale.
adjective
B1
property
3
not fresh, musty air or smell
Describes air or a smell that is old and not fresh, and often feels heavy or unpleasant to breathe.
Schéma d’usage :
stale [air/smell/smoke/sweat]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse stale with dirty. Stale air is not necessarily dirty, but it is not fresh and can feel heavy or unpleasant. For strong bad smells, words like disgusting or awful may be more natural.
Synonymes
musty (Emphasizes a damp, old smell; stale is more general and can describe any air or smell that is not fresh.)
Antonymes
fresh (Describes air that is clean and pleasant to breathe, the opposite of stale air or smell.)
Collocations
stale air
|stale smell
|stale smoke
|stale sweat
Thèmes
home
|environment
|health
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- I opened the window to let out the stale air.
- The room smelled stale after being closed all winter.
- Her clothes had a stale smell from hanging in the closet for years.
- The bar was full of stale smoke and sweat.
- After the storm, the basement was damp and stale.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The office feels hot and stale.
- He opened the door to change the stale air.
- The old house has a stale smell.
- The gym was full of stale sweat and body smell.
- We need to open a window; the air is stale.
adjective
B2
property
4
no longer effective or relevant
Describes news, offers, or chances that are old and no longer useful, important, or interesting because a lot of time has passed.
Schéma d’usage :
stale [news/claim/offer/opportunity]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may use only old or outdated and miss the nuance that stale suggests a loss of power, value, or interest because of time. In legal and business contexts, stale can imply that something is too late to act on.
Synonymes
outdated (Focuses on not being up to date; stale here also suggests that something has lost its force, interest, or value over time.)
Antonymes
current (Describes information or issues that are up to date and still relevant, the opposite of stale in this sense.)
Collocations
stale news
|stale claim
|stale offer
|stale lead
|stale opportunity
Thèmes
business
|law
|news
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- By the time they printed the article, the story was already stale news.
- The court dismissed the stale claim as being filed too late.
- We need fresh leads, not the same stale opportunities from last year.
- Their marketing ideas feel stale and do not excite customers anymore.
- Interest in the project has grown stale over the years.
Exemples pédagogiques
- This is stale news; everyone knows about it.
- The company wants fresh offers, not stale ones from last month.
- The lawyer said the claim was stale and could not go to court.
- Their old plan is now stale and not useful.
- Public interest in the case became stale over time.
adjective
technical
C1
property
5
out-of-date data or state
In computers, describes data or information that is old and not correct now because the real situation has changed.
Schéma d’usage :
stale [data/cache/reference/state]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may think stale in technical texts only means old, but it usually also means the stored data does not match the actual, current state of the system, which can cause errors.
Synonymes
out-of-date (General term for not current; stale in computing specifically suggests that the stored value does not match the real current value.)
Antonymes
up-to-date (Describes data or information that matches the current real state, the opposite of stale data.)
Collocations
stale data
|stale cache
|stale reference
|stale read
Thèmes
technology
|computing
|science
Exemples
- The report was based on stale data and gave a false picture of sales.
- Clearing the stale cache fixed the display problem.
- The system must detect and remove stale references to freed memory.
- Stale reads can happen if the database is not synchronized correctly.
- We need real-time numbers, not stale statistics from last week.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The app showed stale data, so the prices were wrong.
- He cleared the stale cache on his phone.
- The system crashed because of stale references in the code.
- Stale data can make the report incorrect.
- Engineers try to avoid stale information in the database.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
stale
API
GB/stˈeɪl/
US/stˈeɪl/
Syllabes et accentuation
stale (1 syllabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (stale)
Formes du mot
Adjective
- Base: stale
- Comparative: staler
- Superlative: stalest
Famille de mots
Forms
staler
adjective
stalest
adjective
Core family
staleness
noun
Negative and opposite forms
fresh
adjective A1
Expressions
go stale
1/ɡˈoʊ stˈeɪl/
fixed phrase
become old or not fresh
To slowly become not fresh, interesting, or good anymore because too much time passes.
Exemples
- If you leave the bread out, it will go stale by tomorrow.
- Their relationship started strong but went stale after a few years.
- The TV show went stale after the third season and many fans stopped watching.