Synonym Chooser

How is the word inactive different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of inactive are idle, inert, passive, and supine. While all these words mean "not engaged in work or activity," inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work.

on inactive status as an astronaut
inactive accounts

When could idle be used to replace inactive?

In some situations, the words idle and inactive are roughly equivalent. However, idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.

workers were idle in the fields

When can inert be used instead of inactive?

The words inert and inactive can be used in similar contexts, but inert as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity.

inert ingredients in drugs
an inert citizenry

When is it sensible to use passive instead of inactive?

The words passive and inactive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.

passive resistance

When is supine a more appropriate choice than inactive?

The meanings of supine and inactive largely overlap; however, supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.

a supine willingness to play the fool

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 inactive Lifestyle factors associated with stress, such as an inactive lifestyle, may also contribute to high blood pressure. Angela Ryan Lee, Health, 17 July 2025 Zepeda has an inactive guard, which will allow Stevenson to pepper him with shots around the high guard and down the middle. Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025 The New York Times reported how the challenge calls for more than four times the amount of weekly exercise recommended by federal officials (630 minutes versus 150 minutes) — which some experts warned could be too taxing for individuals who were previously inactive and lead to potential injury. Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 9 July 2025 Aside from a few spot-date reunions, however, The Rapture has been inactive on the road since 2010. Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 8 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for inactive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inactive
Adjective
  • Now, both parties are stepping up their efforts to win control of state legislatures across the country, shining a fresh light on races that have long been considered sleepy affairs.
    Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 31 July 2025
  • As the sleepy sports calendar did its usual job of throttling Peacock’s momentum on the customer-acquisition front, the losses at Comcast’s legacy cable unit were similarly predictable.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 31 July 2025
Adjective
  • This means your lawn is dormant and should be revived with watering.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 22 July 2025
  • While Nine Inch Nails itself has been largely dormant since 2020’s Ghosts album series, Reznor and Ross have still been busy working behind the scenes.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2025
Adjective
  • But just because a stock has been quiescent for a while is no reason to disdain it.
    John Dorfman, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
  • In the early 2000s, the U.S. invasion of Iraq united Iraqi Kurds in a quest to preserve their autonomy, and the rivalry in greater Kurdistan eclipsed the quiescent Kurdish rivalry within Iraq.
    Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017
Adjective
  • Avoid wrapping leftover cut lemons in aluminum foil, which can react with the acidity in the fruit, causing an off flavor.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 15 July 2025
  • No team could use an off day than the New York Mets.
    John Perrotto, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • The only other real difference was that the no-sugar version looked shinier and gummier, whereas the originals were a bit duller in comparison.
    Lisa DeSantis, Glamour, 29 July 2025
  • Changeable conditions usually make for exciting races, but 2025 was a bit dull.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025
Adjective
  • After hosting pop ups at Batch and elsewhere for a couple of years, Lit offered Fulco the vacant trailer space at Batch.
    Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
  • None of the 408 properties — occupied or vacant — at the center of the litigation have a certificate of compliance, according to the city's lawsuit, which also alleges hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid blight violations.
    Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 25 July 2025
Adjective
  • Originally supposed to fly Sierra Space Dream Chaser test flight, but payload switched to an inert mass simulator because of potential Dream Chaser delays beyond October launch date.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2025
  • The code, though, is now inert, and the AI won’t ever let it be performed.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Adjective
  • Those with a relationship cash value of less than $250,000 can get 0.15% APY on their idle funds, while the largest accounts – those with $10 million or above in cash balances – can pick up 2.28%.
    Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 22 July 2025
  • Years passed and the farming operation fizzled, then the barn sat idle for nearly three decades.
    Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 17 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inactive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inactive. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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