unactive

U1N1A1C3T1I1V4E1

adjective

Not active; inactive.

Similar
abeyantdormantlatent
OriginEnglish active ← Middle English actyf ← Old French actif →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectiveunactive (comparative more unactive, superlative most unactive)

comparative more unactive · superlative most unactive

  1. Not active; inactive.

    Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed, which declares his dignity, And the regard of heav'n on all his ways; While other animals unactive range, And of their doings God takes no account.

    1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost, lines 618–622

    Synonyms: abeyant, dormant, latent

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNot active; inactive.

Similar
abeyantdormantlatent
Also see
inactive

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵeti
  10. Proto-Italic*agō
  11. Latinagō
  12. Ancient Greekἐνεργητικός (energētikós)
  13. Latināctīvu
  14. Old Frenchactif
  15. Middle Englishactyf
  16. Englishactive
  17. Englishunactive

From un- + active. Piecewise doublet of inactive.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

unactive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unactive

MLA

“unactive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unactive. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unactive,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unactive.

Source: unactive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.