in·ac·tive ( n- k tv)adj. 1. Not active or tending to be active. 2. a. Not functioning or operating; out of use: inactive machinery. b. Not being in continuous use or operation: an inactive brokerage account. 3. Retired from duty or service. 4. Chemistry Not readily participating in chemical reactions; inert. 5. Biology Marked by the absence or reduction of activity, such as the ability to cause infection. 6. Medicine Quiescent. Used especially of a disease. 7. Physics Showing no optical activity in polarized light. in·ac tive·ly adv.in  ac·tivi·ty, in·active·ness n.Synonyms: inactive, idle, inert, passive, dormant, torpid, supine These adjectives mean not involved in or disposed to movement or activity. Inactive simply indicates absence of activity: retired but not inactive; an inactive factory. Idle refers to persons who are not doing anything or are not busy: employees idle because of the strike. It also refers to what is not in use or operation: idle machinery. Inert describes things powerless to move themselves or to produce a desired effect; applied to persons, it implies lethargy or sluggishness, especially of mind or spirit: "The Honorable Mrs. Jamieson . . . was fat and inert, and very much at the mercy of her old servants" (Elizabeth C. Gaskell). Passive implies being reactive instead of proactive: "in an hour like this, when the mind has a passive sensibility, but no active strength" (Nathaniel Hawthorne). Dormant refers principally to a state of suspended activity but often implies the possibility of renewal: dormant feelings of affection. Torpid suggests sluggishness or apathy: "It is a man's own fault, it is from want of use, if his mind grows torpid in old age" (Samuel Johnson). Supine implies abject lack of will: "No other colony showed such supine, selfish helplessness in allowing her own border citizens to be mercilessly harried" (Theodore Roosevelt). |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | inactivity - the state of being inactive state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" abeyance, suspension - temporary cessation or suspension anergy - inactivity and lack of energy halt, stoppage, arrest, hitch, stay, stop, check - the state of inactivity following an interruption; "the negotiations were in arrest"; "held them in check"; "during the halt he got some lunch"; "the momentary stay enabled him to escape the blow"; "he spent the entire stop in his seat" calcification - an inflexible and unchanging state; "the calcification of negotiations" deep freeze - temporary inactivity or suspension; "the legislation has now been revived after ten years in the deep freeze" desuetude - a state of inactivity or disuse dormancy, quiescence, quiescency - a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction; "the volcano erupted after centuries of dormancy" extinction - no longer active; extinguished; "the extinction of the volcano" holding pattern - a state of inaction with no progress and no change; "you should go into a holding pattern until he gets over his disappointment" rest - a state of inaction; "a body will continue in a state of rest until acted upon" doldrums, stagnation, stagnancy - a state of inactivity (in business or art etc); "economic growth of less than 1% per year is considered to be economic stagnation" stagnancy, stagnation - inactivity of liquids; being stagnant; standing still; without current or circulation stasis - inactivity resulting from a static balance between opposing forces activeness, activity, action - the state of being active; "his sphere of activity"; "he is out of action" |
| 2. | inactivity - a disposition to remain inactive or inert; "he had to overcome his inertia and get back to work" trait - a distinguishing feature of your personal nature languor, lethargy, phlegm, sluggishness, flatness - inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy; "the general appearance of sluggishness alarmed his friends" restfulness - the attribute of being restful; "he longed for the restfulness of home" passivity, passiveness - the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative | |
| 3. | inactivity - being inactive; being less active pause - temporary inactivity waiting, wait - the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something); "the wait was an ordeal for him" repose, rest, ease, relaxation - freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility); "took his repose by the swimming pool" delay, holdup - the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" |
inactivity
noun immobility, unemployment, inaction, passivity, hibernation, dormancy The players have comparatively long periods of inactivity.
immobility action, movement, employment, mobility, bustle, exertion, activeness
immobility action, movement, employment, mobility, bustle, exertion, activeness
Translations
inactivity
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