Synonyms for inert
ɪnˈɜrt, ɪˈnɜrtin·ert

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. inert

   Idle in all uses rests upon its root meaning, as derived from the Anglo-Saxon idel, which signifies vain, empty, useless. Idle thus denotes not primarily the absence of action, but vain action — the absence of useful, effective action; the idle schoolboy may be very actively whittling his desk or tormenting his neighbors. Doing nothing whatever is the secondary meaning of idle. One may be temporarily idle of necessity; if he is habitually idle, it is his own fault. Lazy signifies indisposed to exertion, averse to labor; idleness is in fact; laziness is in disposition or inclination. A lazy person may chance to be employed in useful work, but he acts without energy or impetus. We speak figuratively of a lazy stream. The inert person seems like dead matter (characterized by inertia), powerless to move; the sluggish moves heavily and toilsomely; the most active person may sometimes find the bodily or mental powers sluggish. Slothful belongs in the moral realm, denoting a self-indulgent aversion to exertion. "The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth," Prov. xxvi, 15. Indolent is a milder term for the same quality; the slothful man hates action; the indolent man loves inaction. Compare VAIN.

   Synonyms:
   idle, inactive, indolent, lazy, slothful, sluggish, trifling, unemployed, unoccupied, vacant

   Antonyms:
   active, busy, diligent, employed, industrious, occupied, working

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. inert

   Synonyms:
   indolent, slothful, lazy, sluggish, heavy, inactive, passive, dormant

   Antonyms:
   active, energetic, alert, brisk

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. inertadjective

   unable to move or resist motion

   Synonyms:
   sluggish, torpid, neutral, soggy, indifferent

   Antonyms:
   active, moving, reactive

2. inert, indifferent, neutraladjective

   having only a limited ability to react chemically; chemically inactive

   "inert matter"; "an indifferent chemical in a reaction"

   Synonyms:
   immaterial, neutral, impersonal, apathetic, electroneutral, deaf(p), so-so(p), unbiassed, soggy, indifferent(p), unbiased, sluggish, torpid, achromatic, indifferent

   Antonyms:
   moving, active, reactive

3. inert, sluggish, soggy, torpidadjective

   slow and apathetic

   "she was fat and inert"; "a sluggish worker"; "a mind grown torpid in old age"

   Synonyms:
   miry, waterlogged, dull, torpid, doughy, sloughy, squashy, swampy, sulky, slow, sluggish, neutral, sloppy, marshy, quaggy, mucky, soggy, indifferent, hibernating(a), boggy, muddy, dormant

   Antonyms:
   active, moving, reactive

Matched Categories

1. • Chemistry

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. inertadjective

   Synonyms:
   inactive, lifeless, passive, motionless, dead

2. inertadjective

   Synonyms:
   dull, indolent, torpid, sluggish, slothful, lazy, idle, supine, lumpish, dronish

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "inert":

   unreactive, inertia, unresponsive, inoperative, non-living, non-active

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How to use inert in a sentence?

1. Micheal Austin:

   It is also the first electric vehicle with an entirely environmentally stable and inert battery chemistry, there are no heavy metals or caustic materials used in the manufacturing of the BYD iron-phosphate battery.

2. Mark Toner:

   We can say, without speaking to specifics, that the inert training missile has been returned with the cooperation of the Cuban government, the department is restricted under federal law and regulations from commenting on specific defense trade licensing cases and compliance matters, so we cannot provide further details.

3. Alfred Jarry:

   It is because the public are a mass -- inert, obtuse, and passive -- that they need to be shaken up from time to time so that we can tell from their bear-like grunts where they are -- and also where they stand. They are pretty harmless, in spite of their numbers, because they are fighting against intelligence.

4. Henry Adams:

   Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts.

5. Longfellow:

   Men of genius are often dull and inert in society, as the blazing meteor when it descends to earth is only a stone.