(ˈ)in, ən+ adjective
Etymology: in- (I) + active
: not active: as
a.
(1) : marked by deliberate or enforced absence of activity or effort : sedentary
forced by illness to lead an inactive life
(2) : not given to action or effort : not diligent, energetic, or industrious : indolent , sluggish
dreamy and inactive by nature
a very inactive police chief
the rentier class, an inactive class in the economy — L.R.Klein
b.
(1) : being unused or out of use : lying idle : not functioning
an inactive mine
an inactive machine
(2) : relating to or consisting of officers and enlisted personnel of the armed forces who are not performing or available for military duties
inactive list
inactive reserve
inactive status
(3) : being a commodity for which there is relatively little demand or in which relatively little trading occurs
active, inactive and obsolete sterling patterns — Christian Science Monitor
inactive stocks
(4) of a disease : not progressing or fulminating : quiescent
c.
(1) : chemically inert : unreactive
inactive charcoal
(2) : not exhibiting any action on polarized light : optically neutral — used of stereoisomeric forms of various substances
inactive fructose
inactive camphor
— compare mes- 4b, racemic
Synonyms:
idle , inert , passive , supine : inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or not usually in action (as in operation or use) or at work
inactive machines
an inactive child
an inactive charge account
idle applies chiefly to persons without occupation at the moment but usually without occupation as a general or habitual thing, or to their powers, organs, or implements
give work to an idle laborer
an idle lathe
an idle mind
an idle pen
inert implies lack of power in a thing to set it in motion or by itself to produce a given effect, or suggests in a person a general indisposition to activity
aimless accumulation of precise knowledge, inert and unutilized — A.N.Whitehead
this amorphous spreading of responsibility will result in a sort of inert, ponderous bureaucracy — Stanley Walker
would lie for hours on a chaise longue, so inert that the folds of chiffon which dripped from her body to the floor hung as steady as if they were stone — Rebecca West
the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people — L.D.Brandeis
passive implies immobility or a lack of positive reaction when acted upon by an external force or agent, often implying a submissiveness consisting of failure to be provoked to resistance or of a planned avoidance of any action that will give aid to the dominating force or agent
some of those hours were spent in intensive cerebration, some in passive listening to lectures — H.M.Wriston
passive obedience to authority
passive resistance to oppression
supine implies abject inertia or passivity, often from indolence
he is supine; he accepts his mother's truculence on his behalf with an indolence of temper which distinguishes him in this, as in all matters — Edward Hyams
political and religious dissension … had split a weary and supine people into a dozen factions — P.J.Searles