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Synonyms

immobility

American  
[im-oh-bil-i-tee] / ˌɪm oʊˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

  1. the quality or condition of being immobile or irremovable.


Etymology

Origin of immobility

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Late Latin word immōbilitās. See im- 2, mobility

Explanation

Immobility is the state of not being able to move around. If you fall out of a tree and break your arms and legs, then you will have to put up with months of immobility while your bones heal. Immobility could mean the condition of not being able to move, like that poor mouse stuck in a glue trap whose immobility will lead to its starvation. Immobility can also just mean the state of not moving. If you are entranced by a beautiful sunset, you might stand with quiet immobility while watching the sky.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing immobility

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Immobility sets in, and eventually, the heart beats for the last time.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2025

Immobility has a way making a person more acutely aware of and appreciative for the simple things in life.

From Golf Digest • Mar. 22, 2018

Immobility continues fairly often for as long as fifty minutes; in certain cases, even, it lasts more than an hour.

From The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Fifthly, That the Author reasons for the Immobility of the Earth after this manner.

From Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666 Giving some Accompt of the present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in many considerable parts of the World by Oldenburg, Henry

Immobility of several centuries, immobility in beings and in things,—one has more and more the consciousness of it as one penetrates farther into this country of forests and of silence.

From Ramuntcho by Loti, Pierre