inactive

[in-ak-tiv]

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.

inactive

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• inactively adverb
• inactivity noun
• inactiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inactive¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Washington said the Bruins for Life website was temporarily inactive as part of that transition and that it would still have an NIL component providing community outreach opportunities for football players.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some said they monitored inactive providers, and in some cases also found many providers didn’t see patients.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The study shows “that even people who are very physically inactive can maximize their heart health benefit by tweaking their walking patterns to walk for longer at a time, ideally for at least 10-15 minutes.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The north pole was believed to be geologically quiet and inactive.

Read more on Science Daily

In essence, a region's connectivity pattern could predict whether it would be active -- or inactive -- during a wide range of mental activities, from conversation to visual recognition to decision making.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

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