- not active or moving
- not inclined to act; idle; dull; sluggish
- not in use or force; not functioning
- not in active service in the armed forces
- not affecting the plane of polarized light: said of some isomers of certain optically active crystalline substances
- chemically inert
This car is inactive.
The definition of inactive is a person or thing that isn't working or moving.
An example of inactive is a car that won't start.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
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inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
inactive
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
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inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
inactive
adjective
- Not active or tending to be active: inactive students at risk for gaining weight.
- a. Not functioning or operating; out of use: inactive machinery.b. Not being in continuous use or operation: an inactive brokerage account.
- Retired from duty or service: inactive military personnel.
- Chemistry Not readily participating in chemical reactions; inert.
- Medicine Marked by the absence or lessening of disease activity.
- Physics Showing no optical activity in polarized light.
Related Forms:
- in·ac′tive·ly
adverb
- in′ac·tiv′i·ty in·ac′tive·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
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inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
inactive
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).
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
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inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
Adjective
(comparative more inactive, superlative most inactive)
- Not active, temporarily or permanently
- The volcano is inactive, but is only dormant.
- Not functioning or operating; broken down
- The photocopier is inactive pending repair.
- Retired from duty or service
- Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list.
- (chemistry) Relatively inert
- Aluminium is inactive towards water.
- (physics) Showing no optical activity in polarized light
- Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
APA Style
inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
inactive - Medical Definition
adj.
- Not active or tending to be active: inactive students at risk for gaining weight.
- Chemistry Not readily participating in chemical reactions; inert.
- Medicine Marked by the absence or lessening of disease activity.
Related Forms:
- in·ac′tive·ly
adv.
- in′ac·tiv′i·ty in·ac′tive·ness
n.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"inactive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive>.
APA Style
inactive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Inactive
