Synonyms for inanimate
- adjective
Most common
inert motionless immobile unmoving non-living inorganic nonconscious nonlive
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Inert — lacking the quality or ability of motion; as an inanimate object
dead, inert, lifeless, dull, immobile, unmoving, motionless, soulless, still, extinct, deceased, impassive, heavy, torpid, inactive, pushing up daisies, languid, spiritless, exanimate, unfeeling, stationary, insensible
2. Non-animate — not alive, and never having been alive, especially not like humans and animals
3. Breathless
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Lacking the quality or ability of motion; as an inanimate object.
- adj. 2
Not alive, and never having been alive, especially not like humans and animals.
- adj. 3
Not animate.
Related words
- Word family
- inanimateness
Choose the right word
In a moral sense, lifeless denotes a want of vital energy; inanimate, a want of expression as to any feeling that may be possessed; dull implies a torpor of soul which checks all mental activity; dead supposes a destitution of feeling.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- inert Nitrous oxide is inert at room temperature.
- motionless Stefan shut his eyes and just lied there motionless.
- immobile The car stopped completely immobile.
- inorganic Water and mineral salts are inorganic substances.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| inanimate | rising | |
| inert | falling | |
| motionless | rising | |
| immobile | rising | |
| unmoving | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- dead1, dull1
- 5 letters
- still1, heavy2, inert2
- 6 letters
- torpid2
- 7 letters
- extinct2, languid2, nonlive
- 8 letters
- deceased2, inactive3, lifeless2, immobile3, soulless2, unmoving
- 9 letters
- inorganic4, unfeeling3, impassive3, pulseless, insensate, exanimate
- 10 letters
- stationary4, breathless2, motionless3, insensible4, spiritless, insentient
- 12 letters
- nonconscious
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (heavy2 = 2 syllables).