Vegetate

//ˈvɛd͡ʒɪteɪt// verb, slang

verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To grow or sprout.
  2. 2
    engage in passive relaxation wordnet
  3. 3
    To spread abnormally.
  4. 4
    propagate asexually wordnet
  5. 5
    To live or spend a period of time in a dull, inactive, unchallenging way. informal

    "Nor indeed is it likely I shall now ever be able to do more than vegetate, for my few remaining years or months in this or some other solitude. It is literally vegetating, for I have very little locomotive powers beyond those that appertain to a cauliflower."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    grow or spread abnormally wordnet
  2. 7
    grow like a plant wordnet
  3. 8
    produce vegetation wordnet
  4. 9
    establish vegetation on wordnet
  5. 10
    lead a passive existence without using one's body or mind wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
be a sidelinerbe stillblossombrewbudburgeon

Example

More examples

"I'd rather die now than vegetate for fifty more years."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vegetatum, past participle of vegeto (“I enliven, I arouse”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.