1
as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment
be careful when putting your hands in even an inoperative garbage disposal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
looking for an expert to fix the inoperative grandfather clock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in invalid
having no legal or binding force
the decision of the state's supreme court has rendered the law inoperative
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inoperative
But India, citing national security concerns, has publicly provided little evidence linking the attack to Pakistan, which denies involvement and says that Lashkar-e-Taiba is largely inoperative.
—
Zia Ur-Rehman, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
At the same time, Israel has acted to render what is left of Assad’s navy inoperative.
—Bassem Eid, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
Although there several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Cambria County in Pennsylvania, no widespread voting problems had been reported by the late afternoon.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
Perhaps most notably, both sides deploy decoy vehicles—either inoperative derelicts or inflatable fakes—to draw enemy fire away from real vehicles.
—David Axe, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Zia Ur-Rehman, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
At the same time, Israel has acted to render what is left of Assad’s navy inoperative.
—Bassem Eid, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2025
Although there several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Cambria County in Pennsylvania, no widespread voting problems had been reported by the late afternoon.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
Perhaps most notably, both sides deploy decoy vehicles—either inoperative derelicts or inflatable fakes—to draw enemy fire away from real vehicles.
—David Axe, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperative
Adjective
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The drought put brush and other vegetation in the area into dormant, winter-like states, fire behavior analyst Kevin Thompson said during the Monday night meeting.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
12 Aug. 2025
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What should be a tender, feminist-minded story centered on a young woman rediscovering her dormant childhood dreamer turns into a middling melodrama about being with a cute guy in desperate need of her rescue.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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For example, in the EMEA region, 60% of clicks on programmatic ads within the sports category on mobile apps were invalid in the first quarter of 2025, as were 14% of all mobile app traffic clicks in the region.—
Roman Vrublivskyi,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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If the result is not a multiple of 10, then the credit card number is invalid.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Interim manager Ray Montgomery agreed that plan made sense, despite the recent number of off days.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
12 Aug. 2025
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The game was suspended due to rain in the first inning and then completed the following afternoon, which was supposed to be an off day.—
John Perrotto,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Over the years, Fox has sustained multiple broken bones, including both arms, his shoulder, his orbital bone and cheek and his hand, which resulted in a serious infection.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
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There is a broken down vehicle on I-35 between 119th Street/Exit 220 and I-435/Exit 222.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Trump had previously signed an executive order on his first day in office announcing that tax deals agreed upon between the Biden administration and the OECD were null.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
27 June 2025
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Even basic tasks, like knowing the password to a legacy system or understanding why a data table has null values, can be governed by undocumented decisions made years ago.—
Kevin Novak,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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Before the pandemic, just 5.9% of RN positions were vacant, according to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
18 Aug. 2025
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Perri did wear No 12, which is vacant, at Botafogo in the past.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Of the remaining kiosks, 40 were inoperable, and the status of five was unknown.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
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About some of his battle, Linda has said, they were told after surgery in July 2022, that the cancer came back in the same spot, was inoperable and that Ryder had just weeks to live.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The bill also contains provisions that any agreement to the contrary, other than a collective bargaining agreement, would be void.—
Dale Nelson,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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If the player does not take a snap for any NFL team in the stated regular season, bets are void.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperative. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
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