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inertia definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a disposition to remain inactive or inert; "he had to overcome his inertia and get back to work" [syn: inactiveness, inactivity, inertia] [ant: activeness, activity]
2: (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, lack of skill, from inert-, iners Date: 1713 1. a. a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force b. an analogous property of other physical quantities (as electricity) 2. indisposition to motion, exertion, or change ; inertness • inertial adjective • inertially adverb

Britannica Concise

Inherent property of a body that makes it oppose any force that would cause a change in its motion. A body at rest and a body in motion both oppose forces that might cause acceleration. The inertia of a body can be measured by its mass, which governs its resistance to the action of a force, or by its moment of inertia about a specified axis, which measures its resistance to the action of a torque about the same axis.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 Physics a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force. 2 inertness, sloth. Phrases and idioms: inertia reel a reel device which allows a vehicle seat belt to unwind freely but which locks under force of impact or rapid deceleration. inertia selling the sending of unsolicited goods in the hope of making a sale. Derivatives: inertial adj. inertialess adj. Etymology: L (as INERT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inertia In*er"ti*a, n. [L., idleness, fr. iners idle. See Inert.] 1. (Physics) That property of matter by which it tends when at rest to remain so, and when in motion to continue in motion, and in the same straight line or direction, unless acted on by some external force; -- sometimes called vis inerti[ae]. 2. Inertness; indisposition to motion, exertion, or action; want of energy; sluggishness. Men . . . have immense irresolution and inertia. --Carlyle. 3. (Med.) Want of activity; sluggishness; -- said especially of the uterus, when, in labor, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased. Center of inertia. (Mech.) See under Center.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you have a feeling of inertia, you feel very lazy and unwilling to move or be active. ...her inertia, her lack of energy... = lethargy N-UNCOUNT 2. Inertia is the tendency of a physical object to remain still or to continue moving, unless a force is applied to it. (TECHNICAL)

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Passivity, passiveness, inertness, lack of activity. 2. Inertness, sluggishness, indisposition to move. 3. (Phys.) Vis inertiae, tendency to continuance (whether of rest or of motion), resistance to change.

Moby Thesaurus

a wise passiveness, abeyance, apathy, catalepsy, catatonia, cautiousness, circumspection, contemplation, contemplative life, creeping, deadliness, deathliness, deliberateness, deliberation, dilatoriness, do-nothing policy, do-nothingism, do-nothingness, dormancy, drawl, dullness, entropy, ergophobia, faineancy, faineantise, firmness, foot-dragging, hibernation, hoboism, idleness, immobility, immobilization, immovability, immovableness, inaction, inactiveness, inactivity, indifference, indolence, inertness, inexertion, inextricability, inflexibility, irremovability, just being, laggardness, laissez-aller, laissez-faire, laissez-faireism, languor, lassitude, latency, laziness, leisureliness, lentitude, lentor, listlessness, lotus-eating, lull, meditation, mere existence, mere tropism, motionlessness, neutralism, neutrality, neutralness, noninvolvement, nonparticipation, nonresistance, nonviolence, nonviolent resistance, pacifism, paralysis, passive resistance, passive self-annihilation, passiveness, passivism, passivity, pokiness, policy, procrastination, quiescence, quietism, reluctance, remissness, rigidity, shiftlessness, slackness, sloth, slothfulness, slowness, sluggardy, sluggishness, solidity, spring fever, stagnancy, stagnation, standpattism, stasis, suspense, suspension, tentativeness, torpor, underactivity, unmovability, unyieldingness, vagrancy, vegetation, vis inertiae, vita contemplativa, waiting game, watching and waiting