Skip to main content

Insipid vs Vapid vs Flat vs Jejune vs Banal vs Wishy-washy vs Inane

Insipid, vapidflatjejunebanalwishy-washyinane mean devoid of qualities which give spirit, character, or substance to a thing.

Something insipid is without taste, or savor, or pungency; the term is applied not only to food and drink which are so tasteless as to give no pleasure or stimulation to the palate, but also to persons and their utterances and ideas which strike one as thin, weak, and characterless and leave one completely indifferent.

Something vapid is stale, uninteresting, or pointless because it has lost its characteristic taste, freshness, spirit, sparkle, or tang.

Something flat is so vapid that it seems dead or lifeless. The word is applied chiefly to what has lost all savor, sparkle, zest, or capacity for stimulating interest or pleasure.

Something jejune is so devoid of substance or nutritive quality that it cannot satisfy the appetite; the word is only occasionally used with reference to physical hunger and is usually employed with reference to hunger of the mind or the emotions. It often connotes barrenness, aridity, or meagerness in addition to its basic implications.

Something banal is so commonplace or so trite that it lacks all freshness or power to stimulate or appeal. The term often also carries one or more of such various connotations as tastelessness, pedestrianism, triviality, or platitudinousness.

Something wishy-washy has the essential or characteristic qualities so weak or diluted that it strikes one as extremely insipid or vapid.

Something inane is devoid of sense, significance, or point.