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
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
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
On Tuesday morning, several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Pennsylvania.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
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
On Tuesday morning, several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Pennsylvania.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperative
Adjective
-
Like the virus that causes chicken pox (varicella-zoster), HPV can lie dormant in the body for decades.—
Liz Szabo,
Scientific American,
29 Apr. 2025
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Technology teams were left stranded, waiting months for essential components or scrambling to find alternatives from dormant inventories to maintain continuity.—
Archaana Pattabhii,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Walgreens then allegedly submitted reimbursement claims to several different federal healthcare programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, for prescriptions that were invalid or not medically necessary and were not eligible for reimbursement, according to the agreement.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2025
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Walgreens pharmacists ignored red flags that the prescriptions were invalid or lacked a medical purpose, the complaint said.—
Caroline Petrow-Cohen,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Except the Giants did it without an off day, on both sides of the country, and against contending teams.—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
-
That was enough for the Cavaliers to overcome an off day from All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who totaled just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting on threes.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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There is a broken down vehicle on the George Brett Super Highway between exit 8A and I-435 South.—
Kansas City Star Bot,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2025
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And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Numerous state legislatures, heavily lobbied by commercial industries, have preempted or challenged Rights of Nature laws, rendering them null, void, and wholly unenforceable.—
India Nye Wenner,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2025
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To reporters late Sunday evening and later on social media, Trump claimed the pardons are null because Biden had used an autopen rather than sign by hand.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The lot had been vacant since the early 1900s when this house was completed in 2018.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 May 2025
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In the 13th century, the papacy was vacant for almost three years before the election of Gregory X, who tightened up conclave rules.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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But the remaining chargers were inoperable 31% of the time, Hartmann said in testimony on Hettleman’s bill.—
Christine Condon,
Baltimore Sun,
1 May 2025
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The Justice Department noted in court filings that this will eventually render the app inoperable.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Thankfully, plenty of other types of fruit are standing at the ready to fill that fiber void—without skimping on that watermelon-like crunch either.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The agreements were declared void, and the Kailasans were deported — not to Kailasa, but to their actual home countries, among them India, the United States, Sweden and China.—
Mujib Mashal,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperative. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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