Synonym Chooser

How is the word inactive different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of inactive are idle, inert, passive, and supine. While all these words 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

When could idle be used to replace inactive?

In some situations, the words idle and inactive are roughly equivalent. However, idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.

workers were idle in the fields

When can inert be used instead of inactive?

The words inert and inactive can be used in similar contexts, but 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

When is it sensible to use passive instead of inactive?

The words passive and inactive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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

When is supine a more appropriate choice than inactive?

The meanings of supine and inactive largely overlap; however, supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.

a supine willingness to play the fool

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inactive According to an Illinois Auditor General report, it was found that over 100 state boards in Illinois were inactive. Catrina Barker | The Center Square Contributor, The Washington Examiner, 4 Apr. 2025 The Dodgers have a $27 million Opening Day payroll for all their inactive pitchers. Jayson Stark, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025 The Georgia secretary of state's office is moving ahead with canceling the registration of about 455,000 inactive voters. Axios Atlanta, Axios, 25 Mar. 2025 Massively inactive with just one fight since December 2022. Brian Mazique, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for inactive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactive
Adjective
  • In a video shared by A Dog's Hideaway, another golden called Butters was equally sleepy after hours of fun at day care.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Alice finds herself on the sleepy Little Crescent Island, hoping to interview mysterious heiress Margaret Ives.
    Maya Layne, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Technology teams were left stranded, waiting months for essential components or scrambling to find alternatives from dormant inventories to maintain continuity.
    Archaana Pattabhii, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Like the virus that causes chicken pox (varicella-zoster), HPV can lie dormant in the body for decades.
    Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Just an hour south of the gaseous maelstrom otherwise known as the City of Angels lurks a quiescent hideaway called Terranea Resort, set like a rare gemstone on 102 acres of Palos Verdes Peninsula oceanfront.
    David Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Russia, for its part, went from being both weak and quiescent in the early 1990s to being a revanchist power, a spoiler with enough capability and cunning to be disruptive.
    Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019
Adjective
  • Except the Giants did it without an off day, on both sides of the country, and against contending teams.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
  • That was enough for the Cavaliers to overcome an off day from All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who totaled just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting on threes.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Designed for Uncertainty – And the Next Economic Landscape Think defense stocks are dull?
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Indeed, early American industrial work was demanding, dull, and dangerous.
    Made by History, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • In the 13th century, the papacy was vacant for almost three years before the election of Gregory X, who tightened up conclave rules.
    John Bacon, USA Today, 2 May 2025
  • The lot had been vacant since the early 1900s when this house was completed in 2018.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 May 2025
Adjective
  • Originally supposed to fly Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight, but payload switched to an inert mass simulator because of potential Dream Chaser delays beyond October launch date.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Many firms pursued the idea of scientific management, i.e. imposing a system of inert processes, methods, structure, and systems on staff in order to make money.
    Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The days before the storied conclave May 7 at the Vatican are not idle, and an unspoken selection process is already underway amid whispers in corridors and cafes throughout Rome and other cities in Italy.
    Michael Loria, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • First Solar might have to reduce or idle production at the Malaysia and Vietnam factories.
    Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 30 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactive. Accessed 8 May. 2025.

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