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Synonyms

inoperative

American  
[in-op-er-uh-tiv, -op-ruh-tiv, -op-uh-rey-tiv] / ɪnˈɒp ər ə tɪv, -ˈɒp rə tɪv, -ˈɒp əˌreɪ tɪv /

adjective

  1. not operative; not in operation.

  2. without effect.

    inoperative remedies.

  3. no longer in effect; void; canceled.

    The earlier rule is now inoperative.
inoperative British  
/ -ˈɒprə-, ɪnˈɒpərətɪv /

adjective

  1. not operating

  2. useless or ineffective

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of inoperative

First recorded in 1625–35; in- 3 + operative

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Inoperative as this remained, it at least had the advantage of supplying to the Spanish historians an unbroken line of inquisitors-general to be catalogued.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles

It gleams A happy mirage in a sunny brain; But as a principle, is oft, I fear, Inoperative.

From Man of Uz, and Other Poems by Sigourney, Lydia Howard

Inoperative, in-op′ėr-a-tiv, adj. not in action: producing no effect.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.