inertia

UK /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/ US /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/

noun 3

Definitions

noun

The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.

In a person, unwillingness to take action.

Men […] have immense irresolution and inertia.

Not all the surviving veteran chiefs would actually fight. Some remained nominally in the resistance but in practice delayed at their bases, pretexting a lack of ammunition for their uncertain inertia.

Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

sheer

bureaucratic, institutional, organizational, political

VERB + INERTIA

lapse into

After losing his job, he gradually lapsed into inertia and stopped looking for work.

overcome

She finally overcame her inertia and started going to the gym regularly.

PREP

out of ~

She continued living in the same apartment out of inertia rather than genuine satisfaction.

through ~

Many organizations fail to modernize through sheer inertia and resistance to change.

PHRASES

a state of inertia

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a disposition to remain inactive or inert

inactiveness
inactivity

Antonyms

activeness
activity

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

Men […] have immense irresolution and inertia.

Wiktionary

City had been woeful, their anger at their own inertia summed up when Samir Nasri received a booking for dissent, and they did not have a shot on target until the 66th minute.

Wiktionary

Inertia is an important governing law.

Tatoeba · #3502059

Never underestimate the power of inertia.

Tatoeba · #5905788

In the U.S., businesses say they also encounter regulatory obstacles, which some put down to bureaucratic inertia, others to lack of imaginative thinking.

Tatoeba · #8653915

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, inertia is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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