unreactive
adjective
un·re·ac·tive
ˌən-rē-ˈak-tiv 
: not tending to react : not reactive
pupils unreactive to light
chemically unreactive solvents
Examples of unreactive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
They were thought of as chemically unreactive and generally harmless.
—
Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 13 May 2025
The intense, self-dramatizing Em and the unmoored but also unreactive and unironic Rohit are married but maybe not for much longer.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2024
And the mirrors of the JWST are gilded with gold, an element useful for its unreactive nature and ability to reflect infrared light (not to mention its popularity in jewelry).
—Sanjana Curtis, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
In between is just a short, unreactive benzene ring.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Apr. 2022
Surrounding this core is an intermediate unreactive layer, for example a zinc sulfide shell.
—Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
These are the types of lasers that are best suited to photonics applications that need to use inert materials—oxides are very unreactive—and need to be small.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 1 June 2019
Although nitrogen is the most abundant element in air, the molecular form of nitrogen found there is largely unreactive.
—Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 27 May 2018
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Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 13 May 2025
The intense, self-dramatizing Em and the unmoored but also unreactive and unironic Rohit are married but maybe not for much longer.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2024
And the mirrors of the JWST are gilded with gold, an element useful for its unreactive nature and ability to reflect infrared light (not to mention its popularity in jewelry).
—Sanjana Curtis, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
In between is just a short, unreactive benzene ring.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Apr. 2022
Surrounding this core is an intermediate unreactive layer, for example a zinc sulfide shell.
—Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
These are the types of lasers that are best suited to photonics applications that need to use inert materials—oxides are very unreactive—and need to be small.
—Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 1 June 2019
Although nitrogen is the most abundant element in air, the molecular form of nitrogen found there is largely unreactive.
—Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 27 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Unreactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unreactive. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
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unreactive
adjective
un·re·ac·tive
-rē-ˈak-tiv
: not reactive
pupils unreactive to light
an unreactive gas
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