Standard Lemma guide

inaction

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˈækʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N AE1 K SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Lack of action or activity or labor

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: idleness, rest, inertness, inertia

Antonyms: action

2

noun

Meaning 2

the state of being inactive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inactivity, inactiveness

Antonyms: action

Broader terms: state

Narrower terms: abeyance, suspension, anergy, arrest, check, halt, hitch, stay, stop, stoppage, calcification, deep freeze, desuetude, dormancy, quiescence, quiescency, extinction, holding pattern, rest, stagnation, stagnancy, doldrums, stasis

History

Etymology

From French inaction. Morphologically in- + action.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: անգործություն (angorcutʻyun) — lack of action or activity
  • Belarusian: бяздзе́йнасць (bjazdzjéjnascʹ) — lack of action or activity
  • Belarusian: нячы́ннасць (njačýnnascʹ) — lack of action or activity
  • Belarusian: бясчы́ннасць (bjasčýnnascʹ) — lack of action or activity
  • Bulgarian: безде́йствие (bezdéjstvie) — lack of action or activity
  • Catalan: inacció — lack of action or activity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不作為 /不作为 (bùzuòwéi) — lack of action or activity
  • Czech: nečinnost — lack of action or activity
  • Esperanto: senagado — lack of action or activity
  • Finnish: toimettomuus — lack of action or activity
  • French: inaction — lack of action or activity
  • German: Untätigkeit — lack of action or activity
  • German: Tatenlosigkeit — lack of action or activity
  • German: Trägheit — lack of action or activity
  • German: Nichtstun — lack of action or activity
  • Greek: αδράνεια (adráneia) — lack of action or activity
  • Greek: απραξία (apraxía) — lack of action or activity
  • Ancient Greek: ἀπραξία (apraxía) — lack of action or activity
  • Hungarian: tétlenség — lack of action or activity
  • Italian: inazione — lack of action or activity
  • Polish: bezczynność — lack of action or activity
  • Portuguese: inação — lack of action or activity
  • Romanian: inacțiune — lack of action or activity
  • Russian: безде́йствие (bezdéjstvije) — lack of action or activity
  • Slovak: nečinnosť — lack of action or activity
  • Slovene: nedejavnost — lack of action or activity
  • Slovene: nedelavnost — lack of action or activity
  • Spanish: inacción — lack of action or activity
  • Swedish: overksamhet — lack of action or activity
  • Ukrainian: бездія́льність (bezdijálʹnistʹ) — lack of action or activity
  • Ukrainian: безчи́нність (bezčýnnistʹ) — lack of action or activity