SEDENTARY Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

sedentary

adjective

Definition of sedentary

as in lazy

not doing or involving a lot of physical activity They led a sedentary life after retirement, spending their days in front of the television.

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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 sedentary Exercise helps individuals maintain lean tissue, Evans said, so in sedentary individuals, reducing protein intake could speed up muscle loss over time. — Lauren Chan, STAT, 20 Aug. 2026 Lifestyle factors associated with higher risk include sedentary habits, being overweight, smoking, heavy alcohol use, and diets low in fiber and high in fat or processed meats. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 Adult mussels are largely sedentary, capable only of limited repositioning about their points of attachment. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026 No one knows when a sedentary 75-year-old economist will kick the bucket or a derecho wind will blow the roof off a Roseville retirement condo, but there are actuarial records giving probabilities for either happening. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 16 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sedentary

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sedentary

Adjective

Wailea Canyon Activity Pool is a world of its own, with seven waterslides, a lazy river, caves, and a swim-up Grotto Bar, and between that and a daily calendar of cultural activities, families are well looked after.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Sep. 2026
Or its lazy gaze and obsession with gloss over lived-in texture, which sinks its moments of violence into forgettable trifles?

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of lazy

Adjective

Consider applying an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil after pruning to smother scale and insect eggs to the dormant roses.

— Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2026
This barrier smothers dormant weed seeds and breaks down into rich soil by spring.

— Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of dormant

Adjective

Booksellers like Payne typically post their holdings on multiple websites, such as AbeBooks, Alibris, Amazon, and Biblio, with Alibris widely considered to be the sleepiest revenue stream of the bunch.

— Francesca Mancino, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
For most of their lives, the tracks were a sleepy industrial bypass known as the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.

— John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of sleepy

Adjective

Consumers are moving from manual browsing, multi-tab comparisons and static forms to conversational interfaces; multimodal interactions (voice, vision and text); and autonomous agents that can execute tasks directly.

— Pranjal Saxena, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Those formats translate well for boutiques, since clothes look better in motion than in static product photos and a styling tutorial doubles as a sales pitch.

— Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of static

Adjective

Coach Sean McVay’s strategy of arriving the day before the game backfired and resulted in a dull performance by a team featuring some of the NFL’s biggest stars.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
If Khrzhanovsky’s goal was re-creating social and cultural conditions to capture drama at its purest, then the result merely proves Hitchcock’s refrain that drama is life with dull bits cut out.

— Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of dull

Adjective

That’s because when the body experiences physical stress, including losing weight quickly, more hairs can shift into a resting phase and fall out a few months later — typically two to three months after the event, Rossi explains.

— Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 17 Feb. 2026
This is a condition where, due to stress or hormonal changes, the body puts the hair follicles into a resting phase.

— Essence, Essence, 19 Dec. 2025

Definition of resting

Adjective

Mike O’Connell, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said Showalter’s peace officer license was inactive.

— Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2026
Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin began sending mail ballots to voters over the past week while the new system was still inactive.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of inactive

Browse Nearby Words

sedatives

sedentary

sediment

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“Sedentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sedentary. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sedentary

adjective

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