staled

Lost its freshness

Staled is the past tense of stale, meaning to become or make stale.

Bread stales when left out; beer stales when it sits too long.

The word is uncommon—people usually say something went stale or got stale rather than staled: The donuts had staled overnight.

freshness

dried-out

Depleted of moisture

hardenedMade tough or unfeeling
oldExisting many years
day-oldMade twenty-four hours prior

crusty · withered · desiccated · expired · spoiled · musty · moldy · rancid · soured · turned

staleness

unoriginal

Not new or novel

hackneyedOverused and unoriginal
clichedOverused and unoriginal
banalUnoriginal and dull

trite · overused · worn-out · tired · outdated · dated · passé · antiquated · obsolete · jaded

Opposites

freshness/condition

staledfreshened

Made clean or new

refreshed · revived · renewed · revitalized · fresh

novelty/interest

staledfreshened

Made clean or new

renewed · revitalized · novel · enlivened · reinvigorated

interest/engagement

staledenlivened

Made more spirited

invigorated · excited · captivated · engaged · stimulated

Phrases

stale breadDried-out baked good
military stalemateProlonged combat impasse
stale beerBeer gone flat
stale chipsSnacks gone soft

Family

stale, stalemate, stales, staler, staling, staleness, stalemated, stalest, stalely

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G