Definition of "inert" []

• Unable to move or act. (adjective)
• Sluggish in action or motion; lethargic. See Synonyms at inactive. (adjective)
• Chemistry Not readily reactive with other elements; forming few or no chemical compounds. (adjective)
• Having no pharmacologic or therapeutic action. (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.

• "Merck said small pieces of the shrink wrap, which it called an "inert carbon material," can stick to the inside of product vials and turn brown during the sterilization process."
• "And what we know as inert matter, this is only the result of death in individuals, it is the dead bodies of individuals decomposed and resmelted between the hammer and anvil, fire and sand of the sun and the moon."
• "Yet Shield limps out of the gate, inert from the first frame and devoid of suspense."