List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 197

SYNONYMS: inactive, idle, inert, passive, dormant.
These adjectives mean not involved in or disposed to activity.

Inactive simply indicates absence of activity: retired but not inactive; an inactive life; an inactive factory.
Idle refers to persons who are doing nothing or are not busy, as through unemployment or choice (employees idle because of the strike; it also refers to what is not in use or operation (idle machinery; idle hands).
Inert describes things powerless to move themselves or to produce a desired effect (an inert mass of soil); applied to persons, it implies lethargy or sluggishness, especially of mind or spirit: The old lady was extremely fat and inert.
Passive implies being acted on by external force or provocation without reacting positively: The mind has a passive sensibility, but no active strength.
Dormant refers principally to a state of suspended activity but often implies the possibility of renewal: Her feelings of affection are dormant but easily awakened.