inert

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“
The horseplayer, as the cabbie, lives, for purposes of expression, in the more vivid historical present tense.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Unable to move or act.
  2. adjective Sluggish in action or motion; lethargic. See Synonyms at inactive.
  3. adjective Chemistry Not readily reactive with other elements; forming few or no chemical compounds.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples

  • When matter was believed to be inert, the mere vehicle or theatre of forces, materialism remained a singularly crude and unsatisfying position. —  Thomas Henry Huxley A Sketch Of His Life And Work
  • The horseplayer, as the cabbie, lives, for purposes of expression, in the more vivid historical present tense. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol V No 4
  • Forty thousand miles from Earth's center the Chicago loafed along a circular arc, inert, at a mere ten thousand miles an hour; a speed which, and not by accident, kept her practically stationary above a certain point on the planet's surface. —  First Lensman
  • He remembered how she had reacted with Richard and the leopard. —  Eve's Rib
  • It started informally, but we depend upon that space as much as here for animals not currently in study. —  Eve's Rib
 

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Inert has been looked up 313 times, favorited 0 times, listed 17 times, and commented on once.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

inactive ·  lifeless ·  unable ·  passive ·  inanimate ·  limp ·  indifferent ·  insensible ·  listless ·  numb ·  helpless ·  unresponsive
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin iners, inert- : in-, not; see in-1 + ars, skill; see ar- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French inerte = Spanish Portuguese Italian inerte, from Latin iner(t-)s, unskilled in any art, inactive, indolent, from in- privative + ar(t-)s, art: see art.
 

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/ɪnˈərt/
by American Heritage

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