INACTIVITY Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

inactivity

noun

Definition of inactivity

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

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 An injury can damage a vein, while prolonged inactivity slows blood flow. — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 The default settings include a full power-off after an hour of inactivity, rather than entering sleep mode. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026 After four years of relative inactivity, Bridgers returned with her third album, a tour, and a substantial role in longtime friend Lance Oppenheim’s new film Primetime. — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactivity

Noun

As for whether the report helps prompt change or becomes yet another weighty academic doorstop, that remains to be seen at City Hall, where entrenched political power often combines with bureaucratic inertia to stifle innovation.

— A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
The researchers also focused on reducing the robot’s effective inertia, a property that describes how strongly an object resists changes in its motion.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of inertia

Noun

After years of neglect, the once-rotating, 12-foot cross was barely attached and was nearly removed following heavy rains earlier this year.

— Mickey Rapkin, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026
The cash injection follows years of national neglect for state party candidates.

— Liv Caputo, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of neglect

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

Goldfish centers on a 17-year-old high school senior who presents as detached, ironic and emotionally armored, but underneath is quietly paralyzed by fear of failure, abandonment and becoming his parents.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
The person found responsible could face charges of abandonment and neglect.

— Julia Avant, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of abandonment

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inactivities

inactivity

in actuality

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“Inactivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactivity. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of inactivity

noun

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