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IELTS BNC: 20718 COCA: 24841

insipid

adjective

in·​sip·​id in-ˈsi-pəd How to pronounce insipid (audio)
1
: lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge : dull, flat
insipid prose
2
: lacking taste or savor : tasteless
insipid food
insipidity noun
insipidly adverb

Did you know?

Insipid vs. Incipient

There are those who claim that these two words are commonly confused, though the collected evidence in our files don’t support that claim (in edited prose, that is). If there is confusion, it is likely because incipient is sometimes used in constructions where its meaning is not clear.

Insipid is less common than incipient, but it is used more in general prose and with much more clarity than incipient is. Insipid means “weak,” and it can refer to people (“insipid hangers-on”), things (“what an insipid idea,” “painted the room an insipid blue,” “he gave his boss an insipid smile”), and specifically flavors or foods (“an insipid soup,” “the cocktail was insipid and watery”).

Incipient, on the other hand, is more common than insipid is and means “beginning to come into being or become apparent.” It has general use (“an incipient idea,” “incipient racial tensions”), but also has extensive specialized use in medicine (“an incipient disease”) and other scientific fields (“an incipient star in a distant galaxy”). But general use of incipient is sometime vague at best:

But devaluing grand slams to 3 1/2 runs has irked even the guys it was meant to pacify. "They're messing with the game," says incipient slugger Randy Johnson (three grannies already this spring). "Not to mention my RBI totals."
ESPN, 14 June 1999

Among my generation of aesthetes, bohemians, proto-dropouts, and incipient eternal students at Sydney University in the late 1950s, Robert Hughes was the golden boy.
— Clive James, The New York Review, 11 Jan. 2007

This menu looks traditional but embraces ingredients and ideas that have become incipient classics in American cuisine, such as portobello mushrooms, fresh mozzarella and mango.
— Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 30 Nov. 1995

Incipient is rarely used of people, and so the first example is an atypical use of the word. As for the other examples, can something that is just beginning to emerge be eternal, or a classic? Uses like this tend to confuse the reader.

If you find yourself unsure of which word to use, follow the rule that when referring to someone or something weak, use insipid, and when referring to something that is newly apparent or newly begun, use incipient.

Choose the Right Synonym for insipid

insipid, vapid, flat, jejune, banal, inane mean devoid of qualities that make for spirit and character.

insipid implies a lack of sufficient taste or savor to please or interest.

an insipid romance with platitudes on every page

vapid suggests a lack of liveliness, force, or spirit.

an exciting story given a vapid treatment

flat applies to things that have lost their sparkle or zest.

although well-regarded in its day, the novel now seems flat

jejune suggests a lack of rewarding or satisfying substance.

a jejune and gassy speech

banal stresses the complete absence of freshness, novelty, or immediacy.

a banal tale of unrequited love

inane implies a lack of any significant or convincing quality.

an inane interpretation of the play

Example Sentences

While it is fashionable to write off that decade as an insipid time, one long pajama party, the '50s, in sport at least, were a revolutionary age. Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated, 27 Dec. 1999–31 Jan. 2000 I'd climbed and fished in the emptiest reaches of the American West, but Alaska made the wilds of the lower 48 seem insipid and tame, a toothless simulacrum. Jon Krakauer, Smithsonian, June 1995 By contrast, what we know as "popular" or "mass" culture has always conformed to the most insipid prejudices, and the least subtle formulations, of society. Joyce Carol Oates, The Profane Art, 1983 One evening, over beers, Rasala complained about some insipid movie recently shown on TV. Tracy Kidder, The Soul of a New Machine, 1981 The soup was rather insipid. an apple pie with a mushy, insipid filling that strongly resembled soggy cardboard See More
Recent Examples on the Web Add the insipid voice (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth now, Dickie Jones then) and Pinocchio is hard to warm to. John Anderson, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 In a video by Caitlin Reilly that mocks insipid wedding vows delivered with maximum vocal fry, Babel noted that commenters tried to capture the timing of the speech by giving syllables prominence. New York Times, 17 Aug. 2022 Russell demanded Boston’s respect as a man and rejected its tardy and insipid adulation as an icon. Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Aug. 2022 One winemaker told me a few years ago that much of the pinot blanc in Alsace was from a clone developed for quantity rather than quality, so this was an effort to avoid insipid wines. New York Times, 24 June 2022 We were subjected to that insipid stat in the Eastern Conference finals. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 June 2022 Instead, after an insipid opening to the evening, Rising found life, using a late Luis Seijas goal to beat Miami FC, 2-1. Theo Mackie, The Arizona Republic, 23 Apr. 2022 This error leads to grainy, insipid meat that just tastes salty on the surface. Jeffrey Gardner, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2022 Putting a black actor in a black-and-white Macbeth is insipid. Armond White, National Review, 25 Mar. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

French & Late Latin; French insipide, from Late Latin insipidus, from Latin in- + sapidus savory, from sapere to taste — more at sage

First Known Use

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of insipid was in 1609

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