Definition of "inactive" []

• Not active or tending to be active. (adjective)
• Not functioning or operating; out of use: inactive machinery. (adjective)
• Not being in continuous use or operation: an inactive brokerage account. (adjective)
• Retired from duty or service. (adjective)
• Chemistry Not readily participating in chemical reactions; inert. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I may be misunderstanding the term inactive, of course."
• "As he could never endure what he calls the inactive chattering of the parlour -- people sitting in front of one another with folded hands and nothing in motion except the tongue -- he learnt the art of making laces; he used to carry his pillow about with him, or sat at his own door working like the women of the village, and chatting with the passers-by."
• "One single thing would be unthinkable: to remain inactive, voiceless, in the face of this insane escalation."