1
a
: devoid of or abstaining from motion
b
archaic
: sedentary
c
: not effervescent
still wine
d(1)
: of, relating to, or being a static photograph as contrasted with a motion picture
(2)
: designed for taking still photographs
a still camera
(3)
: engaged in taking still photographs
a still photographer
stillness
noun
stilled; stilling; stills
: to become motionless or silent : quiet
2
: to arrest the motion of
3
: silence
1
: without motion
sit still
2
3
—used as a function word to indicate the continuance of an action or condition
still lives there
drink it while it's still hot
4
: in spite of that : nevertheless
those who take the greatest care still make mistakes
5
a
: even sense 1b
a still more difficult problem
heavier still
b
: yet sense 1a
has still to be recognized
1
2
: apparatus used in distillation comprising either the chamber in which the vaporization is carried out or the entire equipment
Synonyms
Adjective
Verb (1)
Adverb
Noun (1)
Examples of still in a Sentence
Adjective
The cat twitched slightly, and then was still.
Everyone had left, and the house was finally still.
a class in still photography
They had still and fizzy drinks.
Adverb
Sit still. It'll just take a minute.
the cat sat absolutely still, watching as the mouse began to make its way across the floor
Recent Examples on the Web
CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
Cronenberg, whose portfolio includes work as a still photographer on dozens of film and TV productions, shot the film in Hamilton, Ontario, with a cast including Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Firing, and the shape and size of the still head are also admitted as modifying influences upon character.
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The elegant sounds of works by Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff echoed in the still arena.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024
Image: OpenAI The model can also generate a video based on a still image, as well as fill in missing frames on an existing video or extend it.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2024
The video quality is about on par with the still images.
—Sarah Lord, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024
That afternoon, however, Hodges joined the crowd massing in the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, as shown in a still image from a publicly available video, the agent said in the complaint.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 2 Feb. 2024
Or, perhaps more specific, its appearance in a still image that quickly became an internet meme: a shot of Carmy in a back room, having a heated conversation.
—Soraya Roberts, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2024
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2024
The resource of comedy clubs is still not available to many due to prejudice.
—Julie Seabaugh, Variety, 29 Apr. 2024
But the company also acknowledged that Project Texas is incomplete, leaving open the possibility that workers in China can still gain access.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2024
In real life, however, Brooks is far more confident—if still highly methodical.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Perez’s admission of facts with her guilty plea said Morales sometimes didn’t come to the clinic, but still handed out pre-written prescriptions.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2024
Its contents are still unknown as the bottle hasn’t yet been excavated and removed from the cellar; only the top is exposed.
—Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2024
Officials said the cause of the collision is still under investigation.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 29 Apr. 2024
Tickets to see the film in theaters are still available at Fandango.com and elsewhere.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Angus MacKinnon, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Cartoon generators spin up New Yorker–style illustrations and vivid anime stills.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
Carney’s memorandum retold Laube’s sad life and contained stills from Laube’s attack on Tristan.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Since the release of the surveillance stills, Goudreau said, the community has reached out with more than 30 tips.
—Jasmine Hilton, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Turn on the recoil activation for the video and camera and capture unique stills and footage from your hunts.
—Amanda Oliver, Field & Stream, 21 Mar. 2024
Using a nearly monochromatic mix of black ink and photographic stills, Kantor imagines the moment when Haim escaped a group of Nazis by hiding in a pigsty.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
The 172-page book features intimate captures on set, from black-and-white portraits of Timothee Chalamet and Austin Butler, to stills of Zendaya and the cast in between takes.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024
One wall is filled with 80 black-and-white film stills by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa as a tribute to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, while another showcases Mayan sculpture and vases.
—Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2024
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
The French study identified climate change as the most likely cause of stilling over central Asia, which means Ren's modeling could well foretell a less productive future for wind power in China.
—Peter Fairley, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2010
An in-the-know friend in London told me that the day after the video was released, the rumor mills were stilled.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
There's a touching scene between them where Lan asks if Moiraine has ever thought about suicide, as most Aes Sedai who are stilled end up killing themselves.
—Alex Raiman, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2023
The stilling subplot is entirely an invention of the show's.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
The first is the more in-universe one: few Aes Sedai have ever bothered studying the effects of being stilled.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
But the impractical value is likely larger; to be in the presence of a giant is for some reason calming—the air felt tranquil here, the sunlight scattered, the wind stilled.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2023
His device sees what no naked human eye can apprehend: a bright white vortex of time elapsed, frame upon frame upon frame, at once stilled and in motion.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Adjective
On the stillest nights, at nine o'clock, Major Anderson could hear the great bells in the distant witch-cap spire of St. Michael's Church, bastion of Charleston society where planters displayed rank by purchasing pews.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
Cronenberg, whose portfolio includes work as a still photographer on dozens of film and TV productions, shot the film in Hamilton, Ontario, with a cast including Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire and Peter Gallagher.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Firing, and the shape and size of the still head are also admitted as modifying influences upon character.
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The elegant sounds of works by Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff echoed in the still arena.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024
Image: OpenAI The model can also generate a video based on a still image, as well as fill in missing frames on an existing video or extend it.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 15 Feb. 2024
The video quality is about on par with the still images.
—Sarah Lord, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024
That afternoon, however, Hodges joined the crowd massing in the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, as shown in a still image from a publicly available video, the agent said in the complaint.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 2 Feb. 2024
Or, perhaps more specific, its appearance in a still image that quickly became an internet meme: a shot of Carmy in a back room, having a heated conversation.
—Soraya Roberts, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2024
Adverb
Haaland, now sixty-three, still runs marathons, and the pair enjoy hiking together.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2024
The resource of comedy clubs is still not available to many due to prejudice.
—Julie Seabaugh, Variety, 29 Apr. 2024
But the company also acknowledged that Project Texas is incomplete, leaving open the possibility that workers in China can still gain access.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2024
In real life, however, Brooks is far more confident—if still highly methodical.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Perez’s admission of facts with her guilty plea said Morales sometimes didn’t come to the clinic, but still handed out pre-written prescriptions.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2024
Its contents are still unknown as the bottle hasn’t yet been excavated and removed from the cellar; only the top is exposed.
—Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2024
Officials said the cause of the collision is still under investigation.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 29 Apr. 2024
Tickets to see the film in theaters are still available at Fandango.com and elsewhere.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Noun
Related article The wild, remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry
Alchemical ambience
Across the courtyard, the new still room resembles a vast industrial greenhouse with four shiny new copper stills as its exotic plants.
—Angus MacKinnon, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Cartoon generators spin up New Yorker–style illustrations and vivid anime stills.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
Carney’s memorandum retold Laube’s sad life and contained stills from Laube’s attack on Tristan.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Since the release of the surveillance stills, Goudreau said, the community has reached out with more than 30 tips.
—Jasmine Hilton, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Turn on the recoil activation for the video and camera and capture unique stills and footage from your hunts.
—Amanda Oliver, Field & Stream, 21 Mar. 2024
Using a nearly monochromatic mix of black ink and photographic stills, Kantor imagines the moment when Haim escaped a group of Nazis by hiding in a pigsty.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
The 172-page book features intimate captures on set, from black-and-white portraits of Timothee Chalamet and Austin Butler, to stills of Zendaya and the cast in between takes.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024
One wall is filled with 80 black-and-white film stills by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa as a tribute to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, while another showcases Mayan sculpture and vases.
—Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
Moiraine was captured by the Dark One and either stilled or shielded to keep her from channeling, leaving her in a tight spot.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
The French study identified climate change as the most likely cause of stilling over central Asia, which means Ren's modeling could well foretell a less productive future for wind power in China.
—Peter Fairley, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2010
An in-the-know friend in London told me that the day after the video was released, the rumor mills were stilled.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
There's a touching scene between them where Lan asks if Moiraine has ever thought about suicide, as most Aes Sedai who are stilled end up killing themselves.
—Alex Raiman, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2023
The stilling subplot is entirely an invention of the show's.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
The first is the more in-universe one: few Aes Sedai have ever bothered studying the effects of being stilled.
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2023
But the impractical value is likely larger; to be in the presence of a giant is for some reason calming—the air felt tranquil here, the sunlight scattered, the wind stilled.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2023
His device sees what no naked human eye can apprehend: a bright white vortex of time elapsed, frame upon frame upon frame, at once stilled and in motion.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'still.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near still
Cite this Entry
“Still.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/still. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
still
3 of 5 adverb1
: without motion
sit still
2
: up to this or that time
still lives there
while it's still hot
3
: in spite of that : nevertheless
those who take care can still make mistakes
4
a
: even entry 3 sense 4
a still more difficult problem
b
: beyond this : in addition, yet
won still another tournament
still
4 of 5 noun1
2
: a still photograph
still
5 of 5 noun1
2
: a device used in distillation
Etymology
Adjective
Old English stille "not moving"
Noun
from earlier still (verb) "to distill," from Middle English stillen, a shortened form of distillen "to distill"
Biographical Definition
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