INACTIVE

[in.ac.tive] adj (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 esp. because of the loss of some quality (as infectivity or antigenicity) -- in.ac.tive.ly adv -- in.ac.tiv.i.ty n syn 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 thi ngs; 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".