inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work.
on inactive status as an astronaut
inactive accounts
idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.
workers were idle in the fields
inert as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity.
inert ingredients in drugs
an inert citizenry
passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.
passive resistance
supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.
idle may be used in reference to persons that move lazily or without purpose.
idled the day away
loaf suggests either resting or wandering about as though there were nothing to do.
she does her work and then loafs the rest of the day
lounge, though occasionally used as equal to idle or loaf, typically conveys an additional implication of resting or reclining against a support or of physical comfort and ease in relaxation.
he lounged against the wall
loll also carries an implication of a posture similar to that of lounge, but places greater stress upon an indolent or relaxed attitude.
lolling on the couch
laze usually implies the relaxation of a busy person enjoying a vacation or moments of leisure.
lazed about between appointments
Example Sentences
Adjective There has been a lot of idle speculation about what might happen, but no one really knows. the idle days of summer Verb She left the engine idling for a few seconds before she turned it off. The cars idled in traffic. A group of boys idled in the doorway. The factory closed, idling several hundred workers. Thousands of workers have been idled by the bad economy. The factory has been idled by the strike. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Athens is 0-2 in Class 6A, Region 7 and will be idle next week before a stretch of region games against Cullman, Hartselle and Columbia. R. Sirvell Carter, al, 15 Sep. 2022 To his credit, Field hasn’t exactly been idle since 2006. Manori Ravindran, Variety, 1 Sep. 2022 Aspen Pharmacare’s vaccine production line in South Africa has been idle for months. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 1 Sep. 2022 Commercial fishing vessels sat idle, obeying official regulations to restore depleted fisheries. Walter Nicklin, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2022 Supply chain leaders need to measure the costs of both incremental capacity and idle capacity to understand their elastic capacity range. Dorothy Li, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 The industry has idle capacity of 225,000 metric tons a year that can still be used, the ministry added. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 5 July 2021 For vaccines, there wasn’t idle capacity to manufacture at scale. Scott Gottlieb, WSJ, 23 May 2021 San Francisco was also idle after losing two of three over the weekend in Colorado. Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, 23 Aug. 2022
Verb
Ship owners, worried about the possibility of missile strikes, are choosing to idle vessels and burn extra fuel until the drills pass. Cindy Wang, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2022 Do not idle your vehicle, as exhaust contributes to ozone formation. Emily Deletter, The Enquirer, 11 July 2022 Ford plans to idle a plant near Kansas City, Mo. that makes its highly profitable F-150 pickup truck. Garth Friesen, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021 In her Senate remarks, Raimondo also pointed to recent reports that two Russian tank manufacturers have had to idle production due to a lack of components. Jeanne Whalen, Washington Post, 11 May 2022 Tour buses idle outside the compound's black metal fence where visitors from around the country disembark to see Magnolia in person. Brianna Griff, Chron, 8 Aug. 2022 But Welter and some workers at the plant worry if the protest continues, GM may have to idle some production at Flint. Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 10 Feb. 2022 The real truth is, Jeff’s quest for creating a better society detaches him from an everyday, idle one. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 16 June 2022 The company has told drivers not to idle when possible, but turning trucks on and off also uses more fuel. Sean Mcdonnell, cleveland, 14 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English idel, from Old English īdel; akin to Old High German ītal worthless
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2