inaction

noun

in·​ac·​tion (ˌ)i-ˈnak-shən 

: lack of action or activity : idleness

Synonyms

• inertia

Examples of inaction in a Sentence

The protesters criticized the administration's inaction on environmental issues.

We must consider the consequences of continued inaction.

Recent Examples on the Web

Speaking at an Africa climate summit, Ruto said climate inaction was costing tens of thousands of lives, compounding development challenges for the world’s poorest nations after massive international aid cuts. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025

My worry is that inaction is not a strategy. —Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

Actors speak and react to Rajab’s own desperate voice, while the film, set wholly within the Red Crescent’s beigely neutral offices, conjures a fraught ticking-clock atmosphere as precious minutes of inaction pass by. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025

Those who support some legal restrictions on guns, often Democrats, say that Republican politicians who appeal to prayer are trying to distract from their own inaction on such things as red flag laws or stricter background checks on gun purchases. —Peter Smith, Twin Cities, 30 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inaction

• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• infraction
• olfaction

Kids Definition

inaction

noun

in·​ac·​tion (ˈ)in-ˈak-shən 

: lack of action or activity : idleness