inactive
/ɪnˈæktɪv/adjective, noun
inactive is spelled I-N-A-C-T-I-V-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, inactive means “Not active, temporarily or permanently” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inactive?
| Letters | 8: I-N-A-C-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is inactive?
Inactive appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce inactive?
- /ɪnˈæktɪv/
Inactive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-inactive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of inactive
- more inactive comparative
- most inactive superlative
- inactives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inactive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not active, temporarily or permanently.
The volcano is inactive, but is only dormant.
- 2
Not engaging in physical activity.
- 3
Not functioning or operating; broken down
The photocopier is inactive pending repair.
- 4
Retired from duty or service.
Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list.
- 5
Relatively inert.
Aluminium is inactive towards water.
- 6
Showing no optical activity in polarized light.
Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form.
noun
- 1
A person who does not take action.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inactive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not active, temporarily or permanently:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does inactive come from?
From French inactif. Piecewise doublet of unactive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).