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

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

A report has outlined major changes needed to get the hundreds of thousands of "economically inactive" people in Britain into work and prevent more from leaving employment.

Read more on BBC

Their findings, recently published in Nature Communications, reveal that faults which have remained inactive for millions of years can accumulate extra stress over time.

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Multi-hyphenate journalist and scholar Jennifer Mota, an inactive voting member of the Recording Academy, believes the inclusive effort to bring in more authentic, diasporic voices could help redefine what music excellence is.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In contrast, participants who were largely inactive showed faster accumulation of tau proteins in the brain, which is associated with Alzheimer's progression, and more rapid declines in thinking skills and daily functioning.

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Related Words

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