staleness

IPA/ˈsteɪlnəs/
IPA/ˈsteɪlnəs/

staleness — 名詞

1. the condition of food, air, or other physical things that have lost their origin

1.名詞B1
釋義

不新鮮

食物或空氣因久放而失去新鮮狀態

the condition of food, air, or other physical things that have lost their original freshness because they were stored or left unused for too long

例句

The staleness of the bread meant no one wanted to eat it for breakfast.

麵包不新鮮了，所以沒人想在早餐時吃它。

the staleness of + concrete noun (bread)

Cole opened the window wide to let out the staleness of the stuffy bedroom air.

Cole 把窗戶大大敞開，讓悶熱臥室空氣中的不新鮮味道散出去。

同義詞
  • mustiness

    specifically of damp, mouldy air or smell, stronger than staleness

  • stale

    adjective form; more common in everyday speech

反義詞
  • freshness

    the opposite quality of being new, clean, and recently produced

文法句型

the staleness of + noun

用法筆記

Most often describes food, drink, or indoor air. Frequently used with 'smell', 'taste', or 'sense of'.

常見錯誤

❌I threw away the staleness bread.
✅I threw away the stale bread.
💡'Staleness' is a noun; use 'stale' as an adjective before a noun.

2. how stale and uninteresting an idea, joke, or piece of creative work becomes whe

2.名詞B2
釋義

陳腐；老套

因重複太多次而不再有趣或新奇的狀態

how stale and uninteresting an idea, joke, or piece of creative work becomes when it has been used or repeated so often that people no longer find it fresh or engaging

例句

Audience members complained about the staleness of the comedian's jokes during the show.

觀眾抱怨那位喜劇演員在表演中的笑話太過陳腐。

complained about the staleness of

The staleness of the company's advertising campaign led to falling sales last quarter.

該公司的廣告活動老套平淡，導致上一季銷售額下滑。

同義詞
  • trite

    stronger; describes an expression or idea that has lost impact through overuse

  • hackneyed

    more formal; criticises lack of creativity

  • tired

    informal; suggests the idea feels exhausted

反義詞
  • originality

    the quality of being new and fresh in concept or expression

  • novelty

    the quality of being interesting because it is new

文法句型

the staleness of + abstract noun

用法筆記

Often used about creative work, media, conversation, and ideas. Collocates strongly with 'sense of', 'feel the', 'complain about'.

常見錯誤

❌The staleness of the movie was boring.
✅The movie felt stale and unoriginal.
💡'Staleness' names the quality; the sentence structure is cleaner using the adjective 'stale'.

3. the state of no longer feeling energetic, interested, or motivated in your work,

3.名詞B2
釋義

倦怠

因長期重複相同工作而失去興趣與動力的狀態

the state of no longer feeling energetic, interested, or motivated in your work, studies, or training because you have been doing the same thing for too long without a break or change

例句

After two years at the same job, Andrés felt a deep sense of staleness.

在同一份工作待了兩年之後，Andrés 感到一種深沉的倦怠。

feel a deep sense of staleness

The coach noticed the staleness in the team's performance after months of daily practice.

教練注意到球隊在經過數月無休的每日訓練後，表現中出現了一種倦怠。

同義詞
  • burnout

    broader; includes physical and emotional exhaustion, not just loss of interest

  • ennui

    formal; describes a more existential, intellectual boredom

  • apathy

    stronger; implies not caring at all about anything

反義詞
  • enthusiasm

    strong interest and energetic enjoyment

  • freshness

    here used metaphorically for renewed energy and perspective

文法句型

a feeling/sense of staleness

用法筆記

Closely related to burnout but narrower — it describes the emotional flatness and loss of interest, not necessarily physical exhaustion. Common in sports and workplace psychology contexts.

常見錯誤

❌I have staleness.
✅I feel a sense of staleness.
💡This sense is typically preceded by 'a sense of' or 'a feeling of'; it is not used as a simple direct object.