inertia
- inertness, especially with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.
- Physics.
- the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force.
- an analogous property of a force: electric inertia.
- Medicine/Medical. lack of activity, especially as applied to a uterus during childbirth when its contractions have decreased or stopped.
Origin of inertia
Synonyms for inertia
Examples from the Web for inertial
Contemporary Examples of inertial
Inertial mass is the amount of matter in an object, the measure of the resistance an object has when a force pushes it.
The Equivalence Principle and Testing Einstein With Spaceships and AtomsMatthew R. Francis
June 4, 2014
Historical Examples of inertial
They are the inertial power – rather than the counterfist of reform.
After the RainSam Vaknin
The delicate accelerometers and inertial guidance components did all the piloting until the second stage kicked us loose.
The Trouble with TelstarJohn Berryman
"You are, of course, aware of the problems inherent in the development of inertial systems," Marks began.
The Electronic Mind ReaderJohn Blaine
inertia
- the state of being inert; disinclination to move or act
- physics
- the tendency of a body to preserve its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
- an analogous property of other physical quantities that resist changethermal inertia
Word Origin and History for inertial
inertia
1713, introduced as a term in physics 17c. by German astronomer and physician Johann Kepler (1571-1630), from Latin inertia "unskillfulness, idleness," from iners (genitive inertis) "unskilled, inactive;" see inert. Used in Modern Latin by Newton (1687). Sense of "apathy" first recorded 1822.
inertia
(ĭ-nûr′shə)- The tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force.
- Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.
inertia
- The resistance of a body to changes in its momentum. Because of inertia, a body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion continues moving in a straight line and at a constant speed, unless a force is applied to it. Mass can be considered a measure of a body's inertia. See more at Newton's laws of motion. See also mass.
inertia
In physics, the tendency for objects at rest to remain at rest, and for objects in uniform motion to continue in motion in a straight line, unless acted on by an outside force. (See Newton's laws of motion.)