as in inertia
lack of action or activity
your nonaction on this matter will result in an arrest warrant
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Recent Examples of nonaction
This creates a negative feeling that moves us into nonaction or avoidance.
—
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
In a demonstration of Democrats’ determination, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston was arrested later Thursday outside of the Hart Senate Office Building after leading a march of Black voting rights activists to protest the Senate’s nonaction on the For the People Act.
—Raga Justin, Dallas News, 29 July 2021
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
In a demonstration of Democrats’ determination, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston was arrested later Thursday outside of the Hart Senate Office Building after leading a march of Black voting rights activists to protest the Senate’s nonaction on the For the People Act.
—Raga Justin, Dallas News, 29 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonaction
Noun
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Japan’s old, stodgy government is initially too caught up in bureaucratic red tape and inertia to mount a response.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
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Her confinement was not the result of any criminal conduct, but of bureaucratic error compounded by institutional inertia.—
Mike Hellgren,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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America’s ratification that year broke a logjam of inaction by nations that had signed the agreement but were wary about actually ratifying it as a legal document.—
Gary W. Yohe,
The Conversation,
10 Jan. 2026
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Congress will continue pressing for accountability and fiscal discipline, because the cost of inaction falls on workers and employers alike.—
Vince Fong,
Oc Register,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nonaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonaction. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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