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 Means is a holistic medicine doctor and wellness influencer Means’ MD postgraduate license was granted in 2014 but shifted to inactive status in 2019, per the Los Angeles Times. Jordana Comiter, People.com, 8 May 2025 However, without receiving treatment, people with inactive TB can develop an active infection. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 30 Apr. 2025 The Alarm was inactive for most of that decade before regrouping and continuing to record and tour. Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2025 In March 1984 Lonoke bought the inactive depot on behalf of the society. Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for inactive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactive
Adjective
  • When Tommy leaves to bring his sleepy son home, Maria revisits her and Joel’s conversation about refugees.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 18 May 2025
  • Photos of my kid's birthday parties are no longer me with bleary, sleepy drinking eyes.
    Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but the company has acknowledged that it may have been sparked by a faulty dormant power line operated by Edison.
    Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
  • Perhaps the Flyers believe that a certain segment of the fan base that’s been dormant through what has been a mostly incompetent decade will awaken with the return of one of the organization’s most popular all-time players now running the day-to-day operations at ice level.
    Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 21 May 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
  • But the Lions scored three times in the top of the third off USD starter Cal Scolari.
    Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2025
  • As the Cubs, winners in seven of their last nine, head into an off day Thursday, here are three takeaways from their second straight series victory.
    Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • The bristles of the brush manually sweep away dull, rough, flaky skin cells.
    Angela Palmer, Verywell Health, 20 May 2025
  • There’s an effort from the developer, Far Out Games, to tell a captivating noirish story here but the cutscenes and dialogue are painfully dull.
    Joshua Lamb, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
Adjective
  • Inside the one-story cinder block building, three state health officials sat along a table at the front of the largely vacant room.
    Margaret Coker, ProPublica, 14 May 2025
  • Fast forward: After three years, the site remains vacant, fenced and undeveloped.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 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, 10 May 2025
  • Reusable drones allow operators to train on the actual platform, replacing live warheads with inert payloads.
    Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
Adjective
  • By adjusting power consumption dynamically, the tool could help reduce unnecessary background activity and extend battery life—especially during idle periods or when apps are not in active use.
    Tahar Rajab, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
  • That's no idle pledge calculated to preserve market share — Keen has been steadily retooling the business for years to protect itself from sudden shifts in global trade and the vagaries of geopolitics.
    Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 9 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactive. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on inactive

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