English words for 'a state of inaction'
Closest matches for "a state of inaction" are ranked by semantic fit across dictionary definitions.
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noun
- a state of inaction
- something left after other parts have been taken away
- a support on which things can be put
- a pause for relaxation
- freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)
- a musical notation indicating a silence of a specified duration
- euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)
- A projection from the right side of the cuirass of armour, serving to support the lance.
- (uncountable) That which remains.
- (uncountable, of a person or animal) Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.
- (snooker, countable) A stick with a U-, V- or X-shaped head used to support the tip of a cue when the cue ball is otherwise out of reach.
- Those not included in a proposition or description; the remainder; others.
- A place where one may rest, either temporarily, as in an inn, or permanently, as, in an abode.
- (euphemistic, uncountable) A final position after death. Also, death itself: "Not alone, not alone would I go to my rest in the heart of the love..." -- George William Russell ("Love")
- (music, countable) A written symbol indicating such a pause in a musical score such as in sheet music.
- (countable) Any relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.
- (uncountable) Peace; freedom from worry, anxiety, annoyances; tranquility.
- (physics, uncountable) Absence of motion.
- (UK, finance) A surplus held as a reserved fund by a bank to equalize its dividends, etc.; in the Bank of England, the balance of assets above liabilities.
- (countable) Any object designed to be used to support something else.
- (uncountable, of an object or concept) A state of inactivity; a state of little or no motion; a state of completion.
- (music, countable) A pause of a specified length in a piece of music.
- The striking of a balance at regular intervals in a running account. Often, specifically, the intervals after which compound interest is added to capital.
- (poetry) A short pause in reading poetry; a caesura.
verb
- have a place in relation to something else
- take a short break from one's activities in order to relax
- rest on or as if on a pillow
- stay the same; remain in a certain state
- be inherent or innate in
- not move; be in a resting position
- sit, as on a branch
- give a rest to
- be at rest
- be inactive, refrain from acting
- put something in a resting position, as for support or steadying
- (transitive, intransitive, reflexive) To lean, lie, or lay.
- (intransitive) To come to a pause or an end; end.
- (no object, with complement) To continue to be, remain, be left in a certain way.
- To be satisfied; to acquiesce.
- (intransitive) To sleep; slumber.
- (intransitive) To stay, remain, be situated, or belong to.
- (intransitive) To lie dormant.
- (intransitive) To be free from that which harasses or disturbs; be quiet or still; be undisturbed.
- (intransitive) To cease from action, motion, work, or performance of any kind; stop; desist; be without motion.
- (intransitive) To rely or depend on.
- (intransitive) To sleep the final sleep; sleep in death; die; be dead.
- (transitive, reflexive, copulative) To put into a state of rest.
- (intransitive, transitive, law, US) To complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)
noun
- a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction
- quiet and inactive restfulness
- Being at rest, quiet, still, inactive or motionless.
- (microbiology) The period when a cell is in a term of no growth and no division.
- (entomology) In insects, a temporary slowing down of metabolism and development in response to adverse environmental conditions, which, unlike diapause, does not involve physiological changes.
- The state of being quiescent; dormancy.
- The action of bringing something to rest or making it quiescent; the action of coming to rest or to a quiescent state.
adj
- passive as a result of indolence or indifference
- lying face upward
- Lying on its back.
- (figuratively) Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.
- (rare, now poetic) Inclining or leaning backward; inclined, sloping.
- (of the hand, forearm or foot) Turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.
noun
- (grammar, also attributively) In Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic and Old Norse: a verb form that combines with an inflection of ha/hafa/hava to form the present perfect and pluperfect tenses.
- (grammar, also attributively) In Latin and other languages: a type of verbal noun used in the ablative and accusative cases, which shares the same stem as the passive participle.
- (grammar, also attributively) (obsolete terminology) The 'to'-prefixed infinitive in English or other Germanic languages, so named because the infinitive was regarded as a verbal noun and the 'to'-prefixed form of it was seen as the dative form of the verbal noun; the full infinitive.
adj
noun
noun
- The state of being indifferent.
- Unemotional apathy.
- Unconcerned nonchalance.
- A lack of enthusiasm.
- (philosophy) Self-identity defined through the negation of difference, non-difference.
- Unbiased impartiality.
- the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
- unbiased impartial unconcern
- apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
- the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally
noun
- (figurative) A state of ignorance or inaction.
- (loosely) A very heavy state of sleep.
- (rare, as used by Magnavox clock radios) The snooze button on an alarm clock.
- A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
- a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
- a dormant or quiescent state
verb
noun
- powerlessness revealed by an inability to act
- the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain
- a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you
- a flaw or weak point
- the condition of being financially weak
- (countable) A special fondness or obsessing desire.
- (countable) An inadequate quality; fault.
- (uncountable) The condition of being weak.
noun
- (law) Inaction, passivity, or neglect to take legal action when it is called for in order to assert, preserve, or safeguard a right, and which inaction implies the abandonment of said right.
- A silent or passive assent or submission, or a submission with apparent consent, distinguished from avowed consent on the one hand, and on the other, from opposition or open discontent; quiet satisfaction.
- agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
- acceptance without protest
noun
- The act of neglecting.
- The state of being neglected.
- Habitual lack of care.
- failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
- lack of attention and due care
- willful lack of care and attention
- the state of something that has been unused and neglected
- the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern
verb
- (transitive) To fail to care for or attend to something.
- (transitive) To fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness.
- (transitive, mathematics) To ignore for the sake of simplifying calculations without significantly affecting accuracy.
- (transitive) To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight.
- fail to do something; leave something undone
- fail to attend to
- give little or no attention to
- leave undone or leave out
noun
- the state of being absent
- failure to be present
- the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsy
- the time interval during which something or somebody is away
- (medicine) Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.
- Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.
- The period of someone being away.
- Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
- A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
- Lack; deficiency; non-existence.
- (fencing) Lack of contact between blades.
adj
- Taking no action.
- Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
- (in "passive provision") Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
- (electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
- (grammar) Being in the passive voice.
- (aviation) Without motive power.
- (finance) Not participating in management.
- lacking in energy or will
- expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
- peacefully resistant in response to injustice
noun
- (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
- (grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
- (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- A thing whose worth decreases with time.
- (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
- (gaming) Ellipsis of passive attack.
- the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb
noun
adj
verb
- (intransitive) To do nothing. To be inactive in a situation.
- (idiomatic, transitive) To support; to continue to support despite things being bad.
- (idiomatic, intransitive) To wait in expectation of some event; to be ready.
- (idiomatic, transitive) To remain loyal or faithful to.
- be loyal to
- not act or do anything
- be available or ready for a certain function or service
adj
noun
noun
adj
- Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
- Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
- Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
- Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
- not having a job
- not in active use
- lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
- silly or trivial
- not in action or at work
- without a basis in reason or fact
- not yielding a return
verb
- (intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
- (transitive) To cause (an engine) to idle(3)
- (intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
- (transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
- be idle; exist in a changeless situation
- run disconnected or idle
noun
- A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative.
- A colony, or a territory subject to rule by an external power.
- The status of being a legal dependent; the relationship between a dependent and their provider.
- Something dependent on, or subordinate to, something else:
- A dependence on a habit-forming substance such as a drug or alcohol.
- (computing) An external component whose functionality is relied on.
- (computing) Reliance on the functionality provided by some other, external component.
- being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)
- the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else
- a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country
noun
- (figuratively) In a person, unwillingness to take action.
- (medicine) Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.
- (physics, uncountable or countable) The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
- a disposition to remain inactive or inert
- (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
prep_phrase
verb
- (intransitive) To be neglected; to make little progress, be unsuccessful.
- (intransitive) To pine away in longing for something; to have low spirits, especially from lovesickness.
- (intransitive) To live in miserable or disheartening conditions.
- (intransitive) To lose strength and become weak; to be in a state of weakness or sickness.
- have a desire for something or someone who is not present
- become feeble
- lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
noun
- (philosophy) The state of total inaction caused by holding global skepticism.
- (neurology) Total or partial loss of the ability to perform coordinated movements or manipulate objects in the absence of motor or sensory impairment; specifically, a disorder of motor planning.
- inability to make purposeful movements
noun
- a state of inaction
- something left after other parts have been taken away
- a support on which things can be put
- a pause for relaxation
- freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)
- a musical notation indicating a silence of a specified duration
- euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)
- A projection from the right side of the cuirass of armour, serving to support the lance.
- (uncountable) That which remains.
- (uncountable, of a person or animal) Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.
- (snooker, countable) A stick with a U-, V- or X-shaped head used to support the tip of a cue when the cue ball is otherwise out of reach.
- Those not included in a proposition or description; the remainder; others.
- A place where one may rest, either temporarily, as in an inn, or permanently, as, in an abode.
- (euphemistic, uncountable) A final position after death. Also, death itself: "Not alone, not alone would I go to my rest in the heart of the love..." -- George William Russell ("Love")
- (music, countable) A written symbol indicating such a pause in a musical score such as in sheet music.
- (countable) Any relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.
- (uncountable) Peace; freedom from worry, anxiety, annoyances; tranquility.
- (physics, uncountable) Absence of motion.
- (UK, finance) A surplus held as a reserved fund by a bank to equalize its dividends, etc.; in the Bank of England, the balance of assets above liabilities.
- (countable) Any object designed to be used to support something else.
- (uncountable, of an object or concept) A state of inactivity; a state of little or no motion; a state of completion.
- (music, countable) A pause of a specified length in a piece of music.
- The striking of a balance at regular intervals in a running account. Often, specifically, the intervals after which compound interest is added to capital.
- (poetry) A short pause in reading poetry; a caesura.
verb
- have a place in relation to something else
- take a short break from one's activities in order to relax
- rest on or as if on a pillow
- stay the same; remain in a certain state
- be inherent or innate in
- not move; be in a resting position
- sit, as on a branch
- give a rest to
- be at rest
- be inactive, refrain from acting
- put something in a resting position, as for support or steadying
- (transitive, intransitive, reflexive) To lean, lie, or lay.
- (intransitive) To come to a pause or an end; end.
- (no object, with complement) To continue to be, remain, be left in a certain way.
- To be satisfied; to acquiesce.
- (intransitive) To sleep; slumber.
- (intransitive) To stay, remain, be situated, or belong to.
- (intransitive) To lie dormant.
- (intransitive) To be free from that which harasses or disturbs; be quiet or still; be undisturbed.
- (intransitive) To cease from action, motion, work, or performance of any kind; stop; desist; be without motion.
- (intransitive) To rely or depend on.
- (intransitive) To sleep the final sleep; sleep in death; die; be dead.
- (transitive, reflexive, copulative) To put into a state of rest.
- (intransitive, transitive, law, US) To complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)
noun
- a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction
- quiet and inactive restfulness
- Being at rest, quiet, still, inactive or motionless.
- (microbiology) The period when a cell is in a term of no growth and no division.
- (entomology) In insects, a temporary slowing down of metabolism and development in response to adverse environmental conditions, which, unlike diapause, does not involve physiological changes.
- The state of being quiescent; dormancy.
- The action of bringing something to rest or making it quiescent; the action of coming to rest or to a quiescent state.
noun
- The state of being indifferent.
- Unemotional apathy.
- Unconcerned nonchalance.
- A lack of enthusiasm.
- (philosophy) Self-identity defined through the negation of difference, non-difference.
- Unbiased impartiality.
- the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern
- unbiased impartial unconcern
- apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions
- the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally
noun
- (figurative) A state of ignorance or inaction.
- (loosely) A very heavy state of sleep.
- (rare, as used by Magnavox clock radios) The snooze button on an alarm clock.
- A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
- a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
- a dormant or quiescent state
verb
noun
- powerlessness revealed by an inability to act
- the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain
- a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you
- a flaw or weak point
- the condition of being financially weak
- (countable) A special fondness or obsessing desire.
- (countable) An inadequate quality; fault.
- (uncountable) The condition of being weak.
noun
- (law) Inaction, passivity, or neglect to take legal action when it is called for in order to assert, preserve, or safeguard a right, and which inaction implies the abandonment of said right.
- A silent or passive assent or submission, or a submission with apparent consent, distinguished from avowed consent on the one hand, and on the other, from opposition or open discontent; quiet satisfaction.
- agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
- acceptance without protest
noun
- The act of neglecting.
- The state of being neglected.
- Habitual lack of care.
- failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
- lack of attention and due care
- willful lack of care and attention
- the state of something that has been unused and neglected
- the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern
verb
- (transitive) To fail to care for or attend to something.
- (transitive) To fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness.
- (transitive, mathematics) To ignore for the sake of simplifying calculations without significantly affecting accuracy.
- (transitive) To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight.
- fail to do something; leave something undone
- fail to attend to
- give little or no attention to
- leave undone or leave out
noun
- the state of being absent
- failure to be present
- the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsy
- the time interval during which something or somebody is away
- (medicine) Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.
- Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.
- The period of someone being away.
- Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
- A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship
- Lack; deficiency; non-existence.
- (fencing) Lack of contact between blades.
noun
adj
noun
adj
- Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
- Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
- Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
- Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
- not having a job
- not in active use
- lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
- silly or trivial
- not in action or at work
- without a basis in reason or fact
- not yielding a return
verb
- (intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
- (transitive) To cause (an engine) to idle(3)
- (intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
- (transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
- be idle; exist in a changeless situation
- run disconnected or idle
noun
- A state of dependence; a refusal to exercise initiative.
- A colony, or a territory subject to rule by an external power.
- The status of being a legal dependent; the relationship between a dependent and their provider.
- Something dependent on, or subordinate to, something else:
- A dependence on a habit-forming substance such as a drug or alcohol.
- (computing) An external component whose functionality is relied on.
- (computing) Reliance on the functionality provided by some other, external component.
- being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)
- the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else
- a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country
noun
- (figuratively) In a person, unwillingness to take action.
- (medicine) Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.
- (physics, uncountable or countable) The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
- a disposition to remain inactive or inert
- (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
noun
- (philosophy) The state of total inaction caused by holding global skepticism.
- (neurology) Total or partial loss of the ability to perform coordinated movements or manipulate objects in the absence of motor or sensory impairment; specifically, a disorder of motor planning.
- inability to make purposeful movements
verb
- (intransitive) To do nothing. To be inactive in a situation.
- (idiomatic, transitive) To support; to continue to support despite things being bad.
- (idiomatic, intransitive) To wait in expectation of some event; to be ready.
- (idiomatic, transitive) To remain loyal or faithful to.
- be loyal to
- not act or do anything
- be available or ready for a certain function or service
verb
- (intransitive) To be neglected; to make little progress, be unsuccessful.
- (intransitive) To pine away in longing for something; to have low spirits, especially from lovesickness.
- (intransitive) To live in miserable or disheartening conditions.
- (intransitive) To lose strength and become weak; to be in a state of weakness or sickness.
- have a desire for something or someone who is not present
- become feeble
- lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
adj
- passive as a result of indolence or indifference
- lying face upward
- Lying on its back.
- (figuratively) Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.
- (rare, now poetic) Inclining or leaning backward; inclined, sloping.
- (of the hand, forearm or foot) Turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.
noun
- (grammar, also attributively) In Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic and Old Norse: a verb form that combines with an inflection of ha/hafa/hava to form the present perfect and pluperfect tenses.
- (grammar, also attributively) In Latin and other languages: a type of verbal noun used in the ablative and accusative cases, which shares the same stem as the passive participle.
- (grammar, also attributively) (obsolete terminology) The 'to'-prefixed infinitive in English or other Germanic languages, so named because the infinitive was regarded as a verbal noun and the 'to'-prefixed form of it was seen as the dative form of the verbal noun; the full infinitive.
adj
noun
adj
- Taking no action.
- Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
- (in "passive provision") Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
- (electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
- (grammar) Being in the passive voice.
- (aviation) Without motive power.
- (finance) Not participating in management.
- lacking in energy or will
- expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
- peacefully resistant in response to injustice
noun
- (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
- (grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
- (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- A thing whose worth decreases with time.
- (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
- (gaming) Ellipsis of passive attack.
- the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb