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inactive

[ in-ak-tiv ]
/ ÉȘnˈÊk tÉȘv /
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See synonyms for: inactive / inactively / inactivity on Thesaurus.com

adjective
not active: an inactive volcano.
sedentary or passive: an inactive life.
sluggish; indolent.
Military. not on active duty.
Chemistry.
  1. inert; unreactive.
  2. noting a compound that has no effect on polarized light.
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Origin of inactive

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

synonym study for inactive

1, 2. 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 WORDS FROM inactive

in·ac·tive·ly, adverbin·ac·tiv·i·ty, in·ac·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inactive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for inactive

inactive
/ (ÉȘnˈÊktÉȘv) /

adjective
idle or inert; not active
sluggish, passive, or indolent
military of or relating to persons or equipment not in active service
chem (of a substance) having little or no reactivity
(of an element, isotope, etc) having little or no radioactivity

Derived forms of inactive

inactively, adverbinactivity or inactiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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