Still

/stɪl/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A period of calm or silence.
  • Grammar: still is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: hush, additionally, aerial photograph, aerosol.
  • Useful contrasts: aflutter, agitated, animated.
  • Usage evidence: Even though he apologized, I'm still furious.

How to use "still"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "still" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "still" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "still" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "still" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "still" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "hush" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "still", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A period of calm or silence.

    "the still of the night"

  2. 2
    A device for distilling liquids.
  3. 3
    a plant and works where alcoholic drinks are made by distillation wordnet
  4. 4
    A photograph, as opposed to movie footage.
  5. 5
    A large water boiler used to make tea and coffee.
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    an apparatus used for the distillation of liquids; consists of a vessel in which a substance is vaporized by heat and a condenser where the vapor is condensed wordnet
  2. 7
    A photograph, as opposed to movie footage.; A single frame from a film.

    "One of his best stories was "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (1914), of which there survives only an amusing still, showing poor Mabel Normand chained to the rails by two toughs, the moustached villain threatening her with a sledge-hammer, and an awful sense of that inexorably approaching express!"

  3. 8
    The area in a restaurant used to make tea and coffee, separate from the main kitchen.
  4. 9
    a static photograph (especially one taken from a movie and used for advertising purposes) wordnet
  5. 10
    A resident of the Falkland Islands. slang
  6. 11
    A building where liquors are distilled; a distillery.
  7. 12
    (poetic) tranquil silence wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To calm down, to quiet.

    "to still the raging sea"

  2. 2
    To trickle, drip. obsolete

    "And if that any drop of slombring rest / Did chaunce to still into her wearie spright,"

  3. 3
    cause to be quiet or not talk wordnet
  4. 4
    To cause to fall by drops.
  5. 5
    make motionless wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    To expel spirit from by heat, or to evaporate and condense in a refrigeratory; to distill.

    "The knowledge of stilling is one pretty feat, The waters be wholesome, the charges not great"

  2. 7
    make calm or still wordnet
  3. 8
    lessen the intensity of or calm wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not moving; calm.

    "Sit there and stay still!"

  2. 2
    Not effervescing; not sparkling.

    "still water; still wines"

  3. 3
    Uttering no sound; silent.

    "The sea that roared at thy command, / At thy command was still."

  4. 4
    Having the same stated quality continuously from a past time not-comparable

    "To follow the still President’s marching orders, all that Secretary Ronnie Puno has to do is to follow the road map laid out by Justice Azcuna in his “separate” opinion."

  5. 5
    Comparatively quiet or silent; soft; gentle; low.

    "[…] a still small voice."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Constant; continual. obsolete

    "By still practice learn to know thy meaning."

  2. 7
    Dormant. dated

    "a still spore"

Adjective
  1. 1
    (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves wordnet
  2. 2
    free from noticeable current wordnet
  3. 3
    not in physical motion wordnet
  4. 4
    used of pictures; of a single or static photograph not presented so as to create the illusion of motion; or representing objects not capable of motion wordnet
  5. 5
    marked by absence of sound wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    not sparkling wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Without motion. not-comparable

    "They stood still until the guard was out of sight."

  2. 2
    Up to a time, as in the preceding time. not-comparable

    "Is it still raining? It was still raining five minutes ago."

  3. 3
    To an even greater degree. Used to modify comparative adjectives or adverbs. not-comparable

    "Tom is tall; Dick is taller; Harry is still taller / Harry is taller still."

  4. 4
    Nevertheless. conjunctive, not-comparable

    "I’m not hungry, but I’ll still manage to find room for dessert."

  5. 5
    Always; invariably; constantly; continuously. archaic, not-comparable, poetic

    "Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Even, yet. not-comparable

    "Some dogs howl; more yelp; still more bark."

  2. 7
    Alternative spelling of styll. alt-of, alternative, not-comparable

    "'Yeah yeah, I'm good still, Stace,' I said."

Adverb
  1. 1
    to a greater degree or extent; used with comparisons wordnet
  2. 2
    despite anything to the contrary (usually preceding a concession) wordnet
  3. 3
    with reference to action or condition; without change, interruption, or cessation wordnet
  4. 4
    without moving or making a sound wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
hushadditionallyaerial photographaerosolafter allagain

Example

"Even though he apologized, I'm still furious."

Common questions

What does "still" mean?

A period of calm or silence.

What is a synonym for "still"?

Common synonyms include: hush, additionally, aerial photograph, aerosol, after all, again.

How do you use "still" in a sentence?

Even though he apologized, I'm still furious.

How do you pronounce "still"?

Pronounced /stɪl/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English stille (“motionless, stationary”), from Old English stille (“still, quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stillī, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)telH- (“to be silent; to be still”). Cognate with Scots stil (“still”), Saterland Frisian stil (“motionless, calm, quiet”), West Frisian stil (“quiet, still”), Dutch stil (“quiet, silent, still”), Low German still (“quiet, silent, still”), German still (“still, quiet, tranquil, silent”), Swedish stilla (“quiet, silent, peaceful”), Icelandic stilltur (“set, quiet, calm, still”). Related to stall. (noun: Falkland Islander): Military slang, short for still a Benny, since the military had been instructed not to refer to the islanders by the derogatory term Benny (which see).

Etymology 2

Via Middle English stillen, clip of distillen; Old French distiller; Latin distillare, from dis- + stillare, from Latin stilla.

Etymology 3

From Old English stillan.

Etymology 4

Aphetic form of distil, or from Latin stillare.

More for "still"

Synonyms

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