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

And Congress ought to be – Congress ought to get up off its ice-cold lazy butt and cut it itself.

— CBS News, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026
With a lazy summer in our rear view and hectic school and job schedules around the bend, ‘tis the season for overworking ourselves.

— Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of lazy

Adjective

The administration has also intervened on behalf of Sable Offshore, allowing the company to revive a long-dormant pipeline off the coast of Santa Barbara despite objections from California officials and regulators.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
During fall, many of the plants in your garden shed their leaves and go dormant in preparation for colder winter weather.

— Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of dormant

Adjective

Illustration by Patricia Bolaños In sleepy South Slope, a local son in search of a beer bar walked past a familiar, long-shuttered laundromat.

— Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026
Carlotta and Dedo have to do everything in their power to prove her innocence and avoid losing her again, with their investigation taking them to the heart of their sleepy suburban town, Sundersheim.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of sleepy

Adjective

This is a season so overwhelmingly dull that it’s taken three different gay guys to recap it.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Iñárritu seems to think this visual alone is funny, but that would require getting past the persistently dull and witless writing.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 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

Verity is immobile and catatonic, and Lowen learns that the family’s life is also darkened by a child’s accidental death.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
The electrons separate, become largely immobile, and also organize themselves into relatively orderly patterns.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of immobile

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 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of sedentary

adjective

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