inactive

American  

[in-ak-tiv] / ɪnˈæk tɪv /

adjective

1. not active.

   an inactive volcano.

   Synonyms:

   inoperative, immobile, unmoving

   Antonyms:

   lively

2. sedentary or passive.

   an inactive life.

   Antonyms:

   lively

3. sluggish; indolent.

   Synonyms:

   slothful, idle, lazy

   Antonyms:

   lively

4. Military. not on active duty.

5. Chemistry.

   1. inert; unreactive.

   2. noting a compound that has no effect on polarized light.

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inactive British  

/ ɪnˈæktɪv /

adjective

1. idle or inert; not active

2. sluggish, passive, or indolent

3. military of or relating to persons or equipment not in active service

4. chem (of a substance) having little or no reactivity

5. (of an element, isotope, etc) having little or no radioactivity

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Related Words

Inactive, dormant, inert, sluggish, torpid suggest lack of activity. Inactive indicates absence of action, indisposition to activity, or cessation of activity: an inactive compound, life, file of papers. Dormant suggests the quiescence or inactivity of that which sleeps but may be roused to action: a dormant volcano. Inert suggests the condition of dead matter, with no inherent power of motion or action; it may also mean unable to move, or heavy and hard to move: an inert mass; inert from hunger. Sluggish expresses slowness of natural activity or of that which does not move readily or vigorously: a sluggish stream, brain. Torpid suggests a state of suspended physical powers, a condition particularly of animals that hibernate: Snakes are torpid in cold weather.

Other Word Forms

• inactively adverb
• inactiveness noun
• inactivity noun

Etymology

Origin of inactive

First recorded in 1715–25; in- ³ + active

Explanation

When things or people are inactive, they're doing little or nothing. A rock, a couch potato, or a gym membership you haven’t used yet is inactive. Active has been used since the 14th century to mean "given to worldly activity." If you’re active, you’re out in the world! Therefore inactive people aren’t doing much. Maybe they’re just taking a break — if a player is inactive for a basketball game, she's sitting on the bench. In physics, an inactive object is motionless. If a club is inactive, it hasn't met for awhile. When things are inactive, there's not much going on.

Example Sentences

Randolph is in the process of revamping the former BuzzFeed channels, which still have around 40 million followers on Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites, but have remained largely inactive for years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

More stable regions tended to contain inactive genes, while rapidly changing regions were linked to genes that were actively being used.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Your Fidelity account, as a result, is treated as a separate, inactive plan.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

While he described welfare as a necessary "safety net", he vowed to get thousands of economically inactive Scots back into work.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

I live in a subtropical area where even the inactive can expect to be moist nine months out of the year.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• dormant
• dull
• idle
• immobile
• inoperative
• jobless
• passive
• sedentary
• sluggish
• static
• unemployed
• unused