inactivity

noun

Definition of inactivitynext
1
as in inertia
lack of action or activity the inactivity outside the school led me to think that it must have been vacation week

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in neglect
lack of use after weeks of inactivity, the car wouldn't start

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 inactivity For example, Hilton points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2026 Baldwin’s suit was initially thrown out last year by a state judge after a lengthy period of inactivity. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026 Smith has not formally retired from the NBA, but his inactivity over the past six years coupled with his off-the-court endeavors might suggest that phase of his life is over. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 If there was any rust on the outfit from nine years of inactivity, it was knocked off the instant the song’s trademark chiming riff gave way to the thwack of Lynch’s snare drum, bringing the band to life. — Adam Gold, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026 Realistically, a week of inactivity is probably the best thing for Flowers. — Andy Behrens, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026 However, in 2024, that application was suspended due to inactivity. — Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026 Genetics and random mutations can play a role, as can tobacco and alcohol use, diet, inactivity and sun exposure. — Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register, 15 Sep. 2026 Decades of research link right brain activity to moral judgment and its inactivity to deficiencies, even to the point of sociopathy. — Michael P.h. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactivity
  1. inertia
  2. neglect
  3. inaction
  4. disuse
  5. idleness
  6. abandonment
Noun
  • The Stanford researchers estimated that sellers can roughly double revenue because of consumer inertia, when people forget or put off canceling, and cancellation friction, when ending a subscription takes too much time or effort.
    — Barbara Booth, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
  • For more than two decades, bad science and bureaucratic inertia have resulted in women and physicians having an incomplete view of HRT.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of inertia
Noun
  • Long-term national data has shown that states that have previously expanded access to SNAP benefits had reduced numbers of CPS investigations and substantiated reports of abuse and neglect, as well as fewer foster care placements.
    — Sandy Santana, STAT, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Johnny JeanBaptiste, 36, and Stacia McMillian, 32, were charged with one count of child neglect without great bodily harm after deputies responded to the report of the wandering toddler, officials said.
    — Felix Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of neglect
Noun
  • Effective leaders make the cost of inaction visible while helping people see the opportunity ahead.
    — Andriana Eliadis, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The guy who isn’t paralyzed by inaction and seems unfazed by any incoming fire.
    — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of inaction
Noun
  • Built into a natural ravine, the stadium’s site was used for ancient Greek athletic contests and later Roman spectacles before falling into centuries of disuse.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • So long as effective communication persists, the reflex to mourn the disuse of a language can be motivated only by something else—nostalgia or, perhaps, the loss of a group’s ability to easily demarcate itself.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of disuse
Noun
  • Meanwhile, in England and the United States and across continental Europe, statutes that punished idleness sharpened into vagrancy laws that gave police discretionary power to identify when a form of nonaction constituted criminal disorder.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • This isn't due to idleness, but often because workers finish tasks early, sometimes hours before the workday ends, especially with AI boosting efficiency.
    — Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of idleness
Noun
  • Such abandonment wounds are deep and destabilizing; the younger the child, the deeper the wound and the harder to form a sense of self and of value as an adult.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The Great Logging Off isn’t pointing toward mass smartphone abandonment.
    — Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of abandonment

Browse Nearby Words

inactivities
inactivity
in actuality
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Cite this Entry

“Inactivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactivity. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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