insipid

See also insípid

English

WOTD – 18 July 2010    

Etymology

From Latin īnsipidus (“tasteless”), from in- (“not”) + sapidus (“savory”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ɪnˈsɪp.ɪd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

insipid (comparative more insipid, superlative most insipid)

1. Unappetizingly flavorless.

   The diners were disappointed with the plain, insipid soup they were served.

2. Flat; lacking character or definition.

   The textbook had a most insipid presentation of the controversy.

3. Cloyingly sweet or sentimental.

   Greeting cards contain some of the the most insipid words ever written.

Synonyms

• boring
• wearish
• corny
• fatuous
• juvenile
• tasteless
• vacuous
• vapid
• dull
• bland
• colourless, colorless
• characterless

Derived terms

• insipidly
• insipidness
• insipidity

Related terms

• insipient

Translations

unappetizingly flavorless

• Catalan: insípid (ca)
• Czech: mdlý (cs)
• Dutch: flauw (nl), smaakloos (nl), smakeloos (nl)
• Finnish: mauton (fi), lattea (fi)
• German: fade (de), lasch (de), abgestanden (de)
• Greek: άνοστος (el) (ánostos) m, άγευστος (el) (ágeustos) m
• Manx: neuvlaystal (gv)

• Maori: hākore (mi), makiha (mi)
• Norwegian: flau (no), smakløs (no)
• Portuguese: insípido (pt)
• Romanian: fără gust (ro), insipid (ro), fad (ro), searbăd (ro)
• Russian: безвкусный (ru) (b'ezvkúsnyj), пресный (ru) (pr'ésnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: ana-blasta (gd)
• Spanish: insípido (es)

flat; lacking character or definition

• Catalan: insípid (ca)
• Dutch: karakterloos (nl)
• Finnish: mauton (fi), lattea (fi), valju (fi), mielenkiinnoton (fi)
• German: charakterlos (de), geschmacklos (de)
• Greek: ανούσιος (el) (anoúsios) m, άνοστος (el) (ánostos) m

• Portuguese: insípido (pt)
• Romanian: fără caracter (ro), insipid (ro), anost (ro)
• Russian: скучный (ru) (skúšnyj), неинтересный (ru) (neinterésnyj), плоский (ru) (ploskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: ana-blasta (gd)
• Spanish: insulso, soso (es)

cloyingly sentimental

• Catalan: insípid (ca)
• Finnish: mauton (fi), lattea (fi)
• German: stumpfsinnig (de), geistlos (de)
• Greek: σαχλός (el) (sachlós) m

• Romanian: fără spirit (ro), nesensibil (ro), nesimțitor (ro), nespiritual (ro)
• Russian: слащавый (ru) (slaščávyj)
• Spanish: cursi (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: flou (af)

• Ido: insipida (io)