Inertia

Inertia
Inertia In*er"ti*a, n. [L., idleness, fr. iners idle. See {Inert}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Physics) That property of matter by which it tends when at rest to remain so, and when in motion to continue in motion, and in the same straight line or direction, unless acted on by some external force; -- sometimes called {vis inerti[ae]}. The inertia of a body is proportional to its mass. [1913 Webster +PJC]

2. Inertness; indisposition to motion, exertion, or action; lack of energy; sluggishness. [1913 Webster]

Men . . . have immense irresolution and inertia. --Carlyle. [1913 Webster]

3. (Med.) Lack of activity; sluggishness; -- said especially of the uterus, when, in labor, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased. [1913 Webster]

{Center of inertia}. (Mech.) See under {Center}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • inertia — in‧er‧tia [ɪˈnɜːʆə ǁ ɜːr ] noun [uncountable] a tendency for a situation to stay the same for a long time: • He believes that suppressed demand after years of inertia will lead to a housing recovery this year. * * * inertia UK US /ɪˈnɜːʃə/ noun… …   Financial and business terms

  • inertia — 1713, introduced as a term in physics 17c. by German astronomer and physician Johann Kepler (1571 1630), from L. inertia unskillfulness, idleness, from iners (gen. inertis) unskilled, inactive; see INERT (Cf. inert). Used in Modern Latin by… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Inertĭa — (lat.), 1) Trägheit, Faulheit; 2) Unvermögen, entweder eines Organs, bes. wegen Erschlaffung u. Reizlosigkeit, als auch einer Flüssigkeit, des lebenden Körpers, wegen Mangels an gehöriger Mischung …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Inertĭa — (lat.), Trägheit, Beharrungsvermögen …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • inertia — I noun apathy, dormancy, dullness, firmness, immobility, immobilization, immovability, inability to act, inaction, inactivity, indecision, indisposition to move, indolence, inertness, inexcitability, irresolution, lack of activity, lack of motion …   Law dictionary

  • inertia — [n] disinclination to move; lifelessness apathy, deadness, drowsiness, dullness, idleness, immobility, immobilization, inactivity, indolence, languor, lassitude, laziness, lethargy, listlessness, oscitancy, paralysis, passivity, sloth,… …   New thesaurus

  • inertia — ► NOUN 1) a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. 2) Physics a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless changed by an external force. DERIVATIVES inertial… …   English terms dictionary

  • inertia — [in ʉr′shə, in ʉr′shē ə] n. [L, lack of art or skill, ignorance < iners: see INERT] 1. Physics the tendency of matter to remain at rest if at rest, or, if moving, to keep moving in the same direction, unless affected by some outside force 2. a …   English World dictionary

  • Inertia — In common usage, however, people may also use the term inertia to refer to an object s amount of resistance to change in velocity (which is quantified by its mass), and sometimes its momentum, depending on context (e.g. this object has a lot of… …   Wikipedia

  • inertia — inertial, adj. /in err sheuh, i nerr /, n. 1. inertness, esp. with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness. 2. Physics. a. the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a… …   Universalium

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