inactive

[in-ak-tiv] /ɪnˈæk tɪv/
adjective
1.
not active:
an inactive volcano.
2.
sedentary or passive:
an inactive life.
3.
sluggish; indolent.
4.
Military. not on active duty.
5.
Chemistry.
  1. inert; unreactive.
  2. noting a compound that has no effect on polarized light.
Origin
1715-25; in-3 + active
Related forms
inactively, adverb
inactivity, inactiveness, noun
Synonyms
1. unmoving, immobile, inoperative. 1, 2. Inactive, dormant, inert, sluggish, torpid suggest lack of activity. Inactive indicates absence of action, indisposition to activity, or cessation of activity: an inactive compound, life, file of papers. Dormant suggests the quiescence or inactivity of that which sleeps but may be roused to action: a dormant volcano. Inert suggests the condition of dead matter, with no inherent power of motion or action; it may also mean unable to move, or heavy and hard to move: an inert mass; inert from hunger. Sluggish expresses slowness of natural activity or of that which does not move readily or vigorously: a sluggish stream, brain. Torpid suggests a state of suspended physical powers, a condition particularly of animals that hibernate: Snakes are torpid in cold weather. 3. lazy, idle, slothful.
Antonyms
1–3. lively.
Examples from the web for inactive
  • The left plundered the working taxpayer and subsidised the lazy and inactive, for decades.
  • By failing to buy insurance, an individual is merely inactive.
  • Either outcome is big news for a planet once thought to be biologically and geologically inactive.
  • Simply put, the sun was highly active over the last cycle and is currently relatively inactive.
  • Females are inactive during this time and may not leave their tree holes.
  • In the early stages of graying, the melanocytes are still present but inactive.
  • The halls and walkways throughout this inactive gypsum mine show evidence of the previous tenant's trade.
  • Disseminated disease can occur within weeks of the primary infection, or may lie inactive for years before causing illness.
  • In other words they have been rendered inactive by mutations.
  • During inactive seasons, these winds often tear apart hurricanes as they try to form.
British Dictionary definitions for inactive

inactive

/ɪnˈæktɪv/
adjective
1.
idle or inert; not active
2.
sluggish, passive, or indolent
3.
(military) of or relating to persons or equipment not in active service
4.
(chem) (of a substance) having little or no reactivity
5.
(of an element, isotope, etc) having little or no radioactivity
Derived Forms
inactively, adverb
inactivity, inactiveness, noun
Word Origin and History for inactive
adj.

1725, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + active.