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 Individual metrics include the share of households living below the poverty line, share of residents who report being inactive and traffic volume on major roads. Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 5 Apr. 2025 Mars contains volcanic plains formed by past eruptions and inactive shield volcanoes that are much more massive than Earth’s volcanoes; Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the entire Solar System, stands at about 2.5 times the height of Mt. Everest. Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025 Boston played its previous 19 games with at least one starter or rotation player inactive. Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2025 Simple steps—such as checking balances, using debit cards, or logging into digital banking—can prevent accounts from becoming inactive. Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for inactive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactive
Adjective
  • Carbon monoxide can also cause the victim to become sleepy, lose consciousness, or lose muscle function as the dangerous gas stops oxygen flow to the brain, heart, and other important cells and organs.
    Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2025
  • This sleepy port town, penned in by snowy mountains on one side and endless freezing sea on the other, could have been where Spurs’ European dream died.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Take a cutting a few inches long with several leaves to include a node (that brown bumpy thing which is a dormant growing point where the stem meets the leaf).
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 9 May 2025
  • Shingles develops in people who have previously had chicken pox, a virus that remains dormant in the body after acute infections clear up and can be reactivated later in life.
    Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 8 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
  • Signs that frozen chicken has gone bad include freezer burn, an off smell or texture, and discoloration.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 10 May 2025
  • Winston will be an example of an off the field leader Dart can learn from, which is likely the reason for Winston earning a two-year contract compared to Wilson’s one-year deal.
    Tyler Small, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • The bristles of the brush manually sweep away dull, rough, flaky skin cells.
    Angela Palmer, Verywell Health, 20 May 2025
Adjective
  • Fast forward: After three years, the site remains vacant, fenced and undeveloped.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2025
  • 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
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
  • To demand that every new formulation be tested against an inert placebo would mean turning back the clock to reproduce trials that may have taken place decades ago, but resulted in the licensing of the original vaccine after safety and efficacy were established.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 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 23 May. 2025.

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