INERTIAS Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

inertia

noun

i-ˈnər-shə

Definition of inertia

as in laziness

an inclination not to do work or engage in activities the inertia that grips so many of the club's members is the reason why nothing ever gets done

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of inertia The researchers also focused on reducing the robot’s effective inertia, a property that describes how strongly an object resists changes in its motion. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026 Beijing will likely suffer from a lengthy period of political inertia under Xi, coupled with a hollowing out of bureaucratic capacity—and then see a succession crisis in the 2030s or 2040s. — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026 The Stanford researchers estimated that sellers can roughly double revenue because of consumer inertia, when people forget or put off canceling, and cancellation friction, when ending a subscription takes too much time or effort. — Barbara Booth, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026 For more than two decades, bad science and bureaucratic inertia have resulted in women and physicians having an incomplete view of HRT. — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inertia

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inertia

Noun

But an industry that’s so quick to condemn consumer-facing AI ‘slop’ for its creative laziness has paid less attention to the laziness AI risks encouraging behind the scenes.

— Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
Don’t dismiss that reaction as laziness or lack of discipline.

— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of laziness

Noun

Meanwhile, in England and the United States and across continental Europe, statutes that punished idleness sharpened into vagrancy laws that gave police discretionary power to identify when a form of nonaction constituted criminal disorder.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
This isn't due to idleness, but often because workers finish tasks early, sometimes hours before the workday ends, especially with AI boosting efficiency.

— Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of idleness

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inert

inertia

inertness

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“Inertia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inertia. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of inertia

noun

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