Insipid
/ɪnˈsɪpɪd/
adjectiveC1
Definition
Insipid means something without much taste, flavor, or excitement. It can describe food or drink that tastes very weak or bland. It can also describe ideas, stories, or events that are boring and do not make people feel interested or excited.
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See It in Action
Without strong taste or flavor (food or drink)
- •The soup was insipid and needed more salt.
- •I found the coffee insipid because it was too weak.
- •This wine tastes insipid compared to the one we had last night.
Lacking interest or excitement (ideas, stories, events)
- •The lecture was insipid and many students fell asleep.
- •His speech was insipid and did not inspire the audience.
- •The movie was insipid, with no real plot or interesting characters.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "insipid" like "boring," but more about lacking flavor or excitement—not just dull, but tasteless
- ✓Picture eating plain, soft bread with no salt or spices—no strong taste at all
- ✓It's the feeling when you listen to a story that has no interesting parts and makes you feel sleepy
- ✓Sounds like "in-SIP-id" → imagine taking a sip (drink) that has no flavor or taste, just plain water
- ✓Remember a movie or book that made you yawn because nothing exciting happened—this is insipid
- ✓NOT like "spicy" or "flavorful" (strong taste), insipid is the opposite—very weak or empty taste
- ✓NOT like "boring" in general, insipid usually means specifically lacking flavor or excitement in something you expect to have it
Try Other Words
- •Bland: without strong taste or excitement (Use when talking simply about food or mild experiences)
- •Dull: not interesting or exciting (Use when focusing on boring ideas or events)
- •Tasteless: having no taste or flavor (Use specifically for food or drink)
- •Uninteresting: not causing interest (Use for ideas, stories, or events)
Unboxing
- •Prefix: "in-" meaning "not"
- •Root: "sip" from Latin "sapidus," meaning "tasty" or "flavorful"
- •Suffix: "-id" forming adjectives
- •Etymology: From Latin "insipidus," meaning "without taste"
- •Historical development: Used since the 1600s in English to describe food without taste and later expanded to describe anything dull or boring
- •Modern usage: Commonly used to describe food, drinks, or anything lacking interest or excitement, especially in formal or literary contexts
Reflect & Connect
•Can something be interesting but still insipid? How would you explain that?
•How does the idea of "insipid" help you understand the difference between plain and exciting experiences?
Fill in the blanks
1.The soup tasted insipid because it lacked ___ and ___.
2.When a story is insipid, it usually makes listeners feel ___ or ___.
3.Unlike spicy food, insipid food has ___ flavor and does not ___ the taste buds.
4.The speaker’s insipid presentation failed to ___ the audience’s attention or ___ them.
5.Insipid drinks often need ___ or ___ to improve their taste.
6.If a movie is insipid, it probably has ___ characters and ___ plot.
7.People often describe food as insipid when it is ___ seasoned or ___ cooked.