adj.
Pronunciation: ( ˌ )i- ' nak-tiv
Function: adjective
Date: 1664
: not active: as a (1) : SEDENTARY (2) : INDOLENT , SLUGGISH b (1) : being out of use (2) : relating to or being members of the armed forces who are not performing or available for military duties (3) of a disease : QUIESCENT c (1) : chemically inert (2) : optically neutral in polarized light d : biologically inert especially because of the loss of some quality (as infectivity or antigenicity)
– in · ac · tive · ly adverb
– in · ac · tiv · i · ty \ - ˌ nak- ' ti-v ə -t ē \ noun
synonyms INACTIVE , IDLE , INERT , PASSIVE , SUPINE mean not engaged in work or activity. INACTIVE applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work <on inactive status as an astronaut> < inactive accounts>. IDLE applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements <workers were idle in the fields>. INERT as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity < inert ingredients in drugs> <an inert citizenry>. PASSIVE implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control < passive resistance>. SUPINE applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence <a supine willingness to play the fool>.