insipid definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

bland, flavorless, tasteless, unsavory, innocuous, jejune, namby-pamby, vapid, watery, arid, banal, blah

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insipid - 5 dictionary results

in⋅sip⋅id

[in-sip-id]

–adjective

1.	without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.

2.	without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland: a rather insipid soup.

Origin:
1610–20; < L insipidus, equiv. to in- in- ³ + -sipidus, comb. form of sapidus sapid

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : insipid

Spanish:

insípido,

German:

fade,

Japanese:

味のない

View 30 other languages »

in·sip·id (ĭn-sĭp'ĭd) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty.
Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull.

[French insipide, from Late Latin īnsipidus : Latin in-, not; see in-¹ + Latin sapidus, savory (from sapere, to taste; see sep- in Indo-European roots).]

in'si·pid'i·ty (ĭn'sĭ-pĭd'ĭ-tē), in·sip'id·ness n., in·sip'id·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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insipid

1620, "without taste or perceptible flavor," from Fr. insipide, from L.L. inspidus "tasteless," from L. in- "not" + sapidus "tasty," from sapere "have a taste" (also "be wise"). Fig. meaning "uninteresting, dull" first recorded 1649, but it was also a secondary sense in M.L.

"In ye coach ... went Mrs. Barlow, the King's mistress and mother to ye Duke of Monmouth, a browne, beautifull, bold, but insipid creature." [John Evelyn, diary, Aug. 18, 1649]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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insipid
adjective
1.	lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland]
2.	lacking interest or significance or impact; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel"

Insipid

In*sip"id\, a. [L. insipidus; pref. in- not + sapidus savory, fr. sapere to taste: cf. F. insipide. See Savor.]

1. Wanting in the qualities which affect the organs of taste; without taste or savor; vapid; tasteless; as, insipid drink or food. --Boyle.

2. Wanting in spirit, life, or animation; uninteresting; weak; vapid; flat; dull; heavy; as, an insipid woman; an insipid composition.

Flat, insipid, and ridiculous stuff to him. --South.

But his wit is faint, and his salt, if I may dare to say so, almost insipid. --Dryden.

Syn: Tasteless; vapid; dull; spiritless; unanimated; lifeless; flat; stale; pointless; uninteresting.

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