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 Landry, Chaisson, White and Ponder were active in Sunday’s 31-13 win over the Titans with Jennings inactive as a healthy scratch. Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 20 Oct. 2025 Rookie cornerback Upton Stout was one of the 49ers’ seven inactive players for Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, which could mean Deommodore Lenoir will get some duty at slot corner. Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2025 McLaughlin goes back to being inactive with Tyler Badie healthy again this weekend. Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025 Star wide receiver Garrett Wilson is among the New York Jets’ inactive players for their Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers. Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for inactive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactive
Adjective
  • Better check behind every bush and tree, because this movie will convince you every sleepy suburb is a slaughterhouse in the making.
    Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
  • In the quiet village of Mount Prospect, nestled just northwest of Chicago’s city limits, residents were sheltering from the cold and rain on a sleepy Sunday afternoon watching TV, scrolling through social media and enjoying midday coffee at home.
    Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The latent varicella zoster virus lies dormant in the body after a person has chicken pox.
    Amy McGorry, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Planting Too Late The best time to plant fruit trees is in spring or fall, when the trees are dormant and the weather is still mild.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The bottom line is that responsibility for today’s rising positive results for COVID-19 and other once quiescent ailments like pertussis runs directly through Kennedy and Trump.
    Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Throughout most of modern history, it was thought that prudent government debt management involved bringing down the ratio of debt to GDP during quiescent periods of growth in order to store fiscal ammunition for the next crisis.
    Kenneth S. Rogoff, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • On the right side of the room, a steel cut image is projected from the wall with fiberglass rods arranged in an off center trapezoid.
    Mario Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
  • And then the third Wednesday is an off week.
    Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Probably something dull and unpaid.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Watch for warning signs like dropping buds and dull-looking foliage, which indicate the soil is too dry for this plant.
    Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And after signing Christian Braun to a five-year, $125 million rookie extension before the deadline last Monday, Denver is already up against it — with 11 roster spots penciled in and four spots vacant.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Carlsbad has owned the vacant land since at least the 1980s.
    Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Released in 1938 and technically known as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the chemically inert, synthetic polymer is most famous for providing impressively nonstick coatings on cookware and other surfaces.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
  • The success of the The Black Phone 2 bodes well not just for horror, but for original ideas in a production landscape increasingly dominated by reboots, remakes, and adaptations of existing IP — any IP, an even inert children's toy.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The production of that vehicle could be idle for several weeks, a union leader familiar with the situation told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
    Jamie L. LaReau, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
  • General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, in fact, did well to sign Wentz — idle after not being picked up by anyone after last season — the week after training camp came to a close.
    John Shipley, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactive. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on inactive

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