Inertia Meaning
/ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
nounIn a person, unwillingness to take action.
Sentence Examples
Inertia is an important governing law.
Never underestimate the power of inertia.
He continued to live as if by inertia.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy object's ____ kept it from moving even when pushed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car continued to roll uphill for a short distance due to its own mechanical ____.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Men […] have immense irresolution and inertia."
— 1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter II, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume III (The Guillotine), London: James Fraser, […], →OCLC, book IV (Terror):
"Not all the surviving veteran chiefs would actually fight. Some remained nominally in the resistance but in practice delayed at their bases, pretexting a lack of ammunition for their uncertain inertia."
— 1970 August 12 [1969 January 15], John Womack, Jr., Zapata and the Mexican Revolution, New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 261:
"City had been woeful, their anger at their own inertia summed up when Samir Nasri received a booking for dissent, and they did not have a shot on target until the 66th minute."
— 2014 March 9, Jacob Steinberg, “Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals”, in The Guardian:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy object's ____ kept it from moving even when pushed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car continued to roll uphill for a short distance due to its own mechanical ____.