inertia
/ɪnˈɝ.ʃə/noun
inertia is spelled I-N-E-R-T-I-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, inertia means “The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of inertia is inertias or inertiae.
How many letters and syllables are in inertia?
| Letters | 7: I-N-E-R-T-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd 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 inertia?
Inertia appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 inertia?
- UK /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/
- UK /ɪˈnɜː.ʃə/
- US /ɪnˈɝ.ʃə/
Inertia 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)-Vealhurl-inertia.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-inertia.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of inertia
- inertias plural
- inertiae plural
- inertiæ plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inertia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
- 2
In a person, unwillingness to take action.
- 3
Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inertia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inertie |
| German | Trägheit, Beharrungsvermögen, Beharrung , Schwerfälligkeit, Unbeweglichkeit |
| Portuguese | inércia |
| Spanish | inercia |
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 inertia come from?
From Latin inertia (“lack of art or skill, inactivity, indolence”), from iners (“unskilled, inactive”), from in- (“without, not”) + ars (“skill, art”). Something close to the modern physics sense was first used in New Latin by Johannes Kepler.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).