1
as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment
be careful when putting your hands in even an inoperative garbage disposal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
looking for an expert to fix the inoperative grandfather clock
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in invalid
having no legal or binding force
the decision of the state's supreme court has rendered the law inoperative
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inoperative
The undercover sources were with him every step of the way, picking him up from his home, traveling to Nashville, and providing him with inoperative explosives, prosecutors said.
—
Kerry Breen, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
On Tuesday morning, several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Pennsylvania.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
All of that will be instantly inoperative as of January 21, 2025, if not right after Election Day.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Kerry Breen, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
On Tuesday morning, several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Pennsylvania.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
All of that will be instantly inoperative as of January 21, 2025, if not right after Election Day.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 3 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperative
Adjective
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Instead of coddling grass with irrigation and fertilizer to prevent it from going dormant, embrace this natural response.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
13 Apr. 2025
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This allows the rooted cutting a full growing season to develop before becoming dormant in the winter.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Walgreens then allegedly submitted reimbursement claims to several different federal healthcare programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, for prescriptions that were invalid or not medically necessary and were not eligible for reimbursement, according to the agreement.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2025
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Walgreens pharmacists ignored red flags that the prescriptions were invalid or lacked a medical purpose, the complaint said.—
Caroline Petrow-Cohen,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Except the Giants did it without an off day, on both sides of the country, and against contending teams.—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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That was enough for the Cavaliers to overcome an off day from All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who totaled just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting on threes.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Using accessible platforms such as 311, public school parents and community members should be able to report broken buzzers and defective security equipment in schools to ensure administrators can quickly address defects and replace them.—
Savanah Jackson,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Numerous state legislatures, heavily lobbied by commercial industries, have preempted or challenged Rights of Nature laws, rendering them null, void, and wholly unenforceable.—
India Nye Wenner,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2025
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To reporters late Sunday evening and later on social media, Trump claimed the pardons are null because Biden had used an autopen rather than sign by hand.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In her next fight, Shevchenko faced ex-women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant flyweight title.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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And several blocks of tunnel below Chinatown, dug half a century ago for the Second Avenue subway, remain a vacant, unseen taunt.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The experimental Type 092 is now inoperable and is replaced by its more advanced successor, the Type 094, the Federation of American Scientists wrote in a report in March.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
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State investigators found numerous violations there, including a rat infestation, medications not being properly administered, inoperable emergency pull cords in some bedrooms and neglected residents.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Thankfully, plenty of other types of fruit are standing at the ready to fill that fiber void—without skimping on that watermelon-like crunch either.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
16 Apr. 2025
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The agreements were declared void, and the Kailasans were deported — not to Kailasa, but to their actual home countries, among them India, the United States, Sweden and China.—
Mujib Mashal,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperative. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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