now vs stale

now

adj
  • Present; current. 

  • Fashionable; popular; up to date; current. 

adv
  • Used to indicate a context of urgency. 

  • Sometimes; occasionally. 

  • Used to address a switching side, or sharp change in attitude from before. (In this usage, now is usually emphasized). 

  • At the present time. 

  • Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has previously been said, a remonstration or a rebuke. 

  • At the time reached within a narration. 

  • Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times. 

intj
  • Indicates a signal to begin. 

noun
  • The state of not paying attention to the future or the past. 

  • The present time. 

  • A particular instant in time, as perceived at that instant. 

conj
  • Since, because, in light of the fact; often with that. 

stale

adj
  • Not new or recent; having been in place or in effect for some time. 

  • Out of date, unpaid for an unreasonable amount of time, particularly in reference to checks. 

  • Of data: out of date; not synchronized with the newest copy. 

  • No longer fresh, in reference to food, urine, straw, wounds, etc. 

  • Unreasonably long in coming, in reference to claims and actions. 

  • No longer fresh, new, or interesting, in reference to ideas and immaterial things; cliche, hackneyed, dated. 

  • Worn out, particularly due to age or over-exertion, in reference to athletes and animals in competition. 

verb
  • To make stale; to cause to go out of fashion or currency; to diminish the novelty or interest of, particularly by excessive exposure or consumption. 

  • To become stale; to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption. 

  • To stalemate. 

  • To become stale; to grow unpleasant from age. 

noun
  • A stalemate; a stalemated game. 

  • One of the rungs on a ladder. 

  • The shaft of an arrow, spear, etc. 

  • Something stale; a loaf of bread or the like that is no longer fresh. 

  • A long, thin handle (of rakes, axes, etc.) 

  • One of the posts or uprights of a ladder. 

How often have the words now and stale occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )