stodgier; stodgiest
1
: having a rich filling quality : heavy
stodgy bread
2
: moving in a slow plodding way especially as a result of physical bulkiness
3
: boring, dull
out on a peaceful rather stodgy Sunday boat tripEdna Ferber
4
: extremely old-fashioned : hidebound
received a pompously Victorian letter from his stodgy fatherE. E. S. Montagu
5
a
: drab
b
: dowdy
stodgily adverb
stodginess noun

Examples of stodgy in a Sentence

the sitcom was offbeat and interesting in its first season, but has since become predictable and stodgy
Recent Examples on the Web Many of these book clubs are not the stodgy ones of old, however, featuring wine and crackers in a host’s living room. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024 Yet returning to a stodgier variety of GOP conservatism could repulse many working-class newcomers. George Hawley, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024 In 2020 and 2021, the jolt of pandemic and favorable economic conditions created an explosion of adoption and investment for companies that hoped to transform some corner of the stodgy health care system with technology. Mario Aguilar, STAT, 2 Jan. 2024 Alice Denney, who invigorated the staid if not stodgy arts scene in Washington as one of the city’s first and most prominent champions of the avant-garde, died Nov. 20 at a hospital in the District. Emily Langer, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023 Among drugmakers, big pharma has a reputation of being stodgy and old-fashioned, while biotech startups are seen as rife with fresher thinking — companies where innovative solutions are actually hatched and are then acquired by those older, bigger firms. Andrew Joseph, STAT, 18 Oct. 2023 Persuading the stodgy organization to invest in tech companies was a challenge. Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 21 Nov. 2023 But Barton Academy, the stodgy Massachusetts boarding school where The Holdovers is set, is a bulwark against all forms of change—and the film’s protagonist, the history professor Paul Hunham (played by Paul Giamatti), seems to have his feet firmly planted in the past. David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2023 On the third day of New York Fashion Week, Ice Spice is beaming from a leather chair in a NoMad hotel whose stodgy, high-Gilded Age decor is upended by her signature fire curls and diamond chain — a cartoon rendition of herself. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stodgy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stodgy was in 1854

Dictionary Entries Near stodgy

Cite this Entry

“Stodgy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stodgy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stodgy

adjective
stodgier; stodgiest
1
: moving in a slow struggling way especially as a result of physical bulkiness
2
: having no excitement or interest : dull, boring
a stodgy day
3
: very old-fashioned in attitude or point of view
stodgily adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on stodgy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!