having no inherent power of action, motion, or resistance (opposed to active): inert matter.
Chemistry. having little or no ability to react, as nitrogen that occurs uncombined in the atmosphere.
Pharmacology. having no pharmacological action, as the excipient of a pill.
inactive or sluggish by habit or nature.
Origin of inert
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin inert- (stem of iners ) “unskillful,” equivalent to in- in-3 + -ert-, combining form of art- (stem of ars ) “skill”; see art1
For a long time, Pluto was believed to be an airless, inert world.
These Images Expose the Dark Side of the Solar System - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Corey S. Powell|August 26, 2020|Nautilus
As a chemically inert, “noble” element, xenon makes for a quiet gazing pool in which to look for the ripples of unknown particles, should any flit through.
Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal|Natalie Wolchover|June 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Surrounded by inert goods, we felt hemmed in, pushed toward a lifestyle cul-de-sac.
How Young People Are Destroying Liberty|James Poulos|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of upending the genre as Joe Millionaire did, the inert Harry mostly shows how much things have changed since then.
You Really Don't Want to Watch Fox’s ‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’|Jason Lynch|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is the market an inert force to be manipulated and exploited, to deprive it of hard-earned cash?
5 Ways to Fix Book Publishing|Anis Shivani|July 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
(The choppy, inert 2000 TV movie with Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd barely registered a blip).
The Great Gatsby: Book Versus Movie|Jon Reiner|May 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The oath of office is in effect a promise—cross my heart and hope to die—never to be inactive or inert.
Don't Let Obama Fail|Tunku Varadarajan|May 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The dry, inert bark, the rough, wirelike twigs change but little from summer to winter.
Under the Maples|John Burroughs
Only a small fraction of the sum total of the inert matter of the globe can have this experience.
The Breath of Life|John Burroughs
She put it back on the fire, an inert mass with all the bubbles died out of it.
The Story of a Doctor's Telephone--Told by His Wife|Ellen M. Firebaugh
Lennard was inert, and no one could tell how he held on until he was flung on the deck.
A Dream of the North Sea|James Runciman
As for the Homestead, it wore, under the inert indifference of her rule, the same neglected look which had prevailed for years.
The Ordeal of Elizabeth|Elizabeth Von Arnim
British Dictionary definitions for inert
inert
/ (ɪnˈɜːt) /
adjective
having no inherent ability to move or to resist motion
inactive, lazy, or sluggish
having only a limited ability to react chemically; unreactive
Derived forms of inert
inertly, adverbinertness, noun
Word Origin for inert
C17: from Latin iners unskilled, from in-1 + ars skill; see art1