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
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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
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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
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
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
The undercover sources were with him every step of the way, picking him up from his home, traveling to Nashville, and providing him with inoperative explosives, prosecutors said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
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
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
The undercover sources were with him every step of the way, picking him up from his home, traveling to Nashville, and providing him with inoperative explosives, prosecutors said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperative
Adjective
-
Waititi never recommitted to Akira and the project has been dormant ever since.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
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The group is currently dormant after Argent suffered a stroke last year that forced him to retire from touring, while White and Grundy have appeared only as special guests since 1997.—
Gary Graff,
Billboard,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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Beijing chose not to participate in the proceedings and maintains that the award was politically motivated and invalid.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
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The bills were sent to their home after bouncing back from a Colleyville company with an address that was either invalid or fictional.—
Cody Copeland,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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Entering play Thursday, an off day for the Yankees, the reigning American League MVP had the highest average (.361), OPS (1.180), fWAR (6.1) and wRC+ (221) in baseball.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
26 June 2025
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His hope is two off days — Wednesday’s game and the team’s off-day on Thursday — will put him in position to return to the lineup on Friday in Cincinnati.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Several broken waste bins were not fixed in a timely manner.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
26 June 2025
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The problem is worsened by the broken and outmoded state of the Oscars’ Best International Feature category, which lets foreign governments handpick their own submissions and launder their public images.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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Null and Void The first major point of controversy involves something called the null energy condition, under which—among other things—energy can’t propagate faster than light.—
Lyndie Chiou,
Scientific American,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In 1870, Mississippi legislators voted 81 to 15 to elect Revels to the Senate to finish the term of one of the state’s two U.S Senate seats, which had been left vacant since the Civil War.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2025
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Earlier this month, Udoka was the subject of interest from the New York Knicks for their vacant head coaching position, one that the Rockets vehemently shut down.—
Kelly Iko,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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The aircraft was flying south when a malfunction caused the left engine to become inoperable, a Kansas Highway Patrol crash report said.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2025
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Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Teny Geragos, Gannon agreed that many of the firearms were wrapped up in tape, not loaded and thus inoperable.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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Treaties signed under coercion became formally void, neutrality no longer required impartiality, and leaders who committed aggressive acts of war could be held criminally responsible.—
Oona A. Hathaway,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Ferran Torres deputised well during that spell, but more firepower is needed to fill the goalscoring void during Lewandowski’s absences.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperative. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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