1
as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment
be careful when putting your hands in even an inoperative garbage disposal
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
looking for an expert to fix the inoperative grandfather clock
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in invalid
having no legal or binding force
the decision of the state's supreme court has rendered the law inoperative
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inoperative
On Tuesday morning, several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Pennsylvania.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
All of that will be instantly inoperative as of January 21, 2025, if not right after Election Day.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 3 Sep. 2024
In these conditions, if the ABS falsely activates and a specific sequence of wheel movements occur, the vehicle’s ABS system will continue to release braking pressure, which can reduce stopping performance or the service brakes can become inoperative, increasing the risk of a crash, Acura said.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
By June 73 per cent of the country’s thermal power generating units had been rendered inoperative.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
All of that will be instantly inoperative as of January 21, 2025, if not right after Election Day.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 3 Sep. 2024
In these conditions, if the ABS falsely activates and a specific sequence of wheel movements occur, the vehicle’s ABS system will continue to release braking pressure, which can reduce stopping performance or the service brakes can become inoperative, increasing the risk of a crash, Acura said.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inoperative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperative
Adjective
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The study also speculated potential future Alzheimer’s problems may arise from the COVID-19 pandemic as SARS-CoV-2 infections have been known to reactivate dormant VSV and HSV-1 infections.—
Rich Haridy,
New Atlas,
25 Feb. 2025
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By targeting the root cause, that is dormant hair follicles, the treatment has a more complete effect as opposed to what is currently being offered, which only slows down the process of hair loss.—
Ascend Agency,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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China refused to participate in the proceedings and maintains the award is invalid.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
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Reina’s attorney argued in part that the lawsuit is invalid because statutes of limitation have expired.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacramento Bee,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Stewart’s on-field production left a lot to be desired last year, but his motor doesn’t have an off switch.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
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Park officials later discovered the remains in the original search area using a human remains detection canine during an off-trail grid search.—
David Chiu,
People.com,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Hurt In Minors, In Hall Of Fame A broken arm at age 19 while diving for a flyball in the minors turned a promising pitcher into a full-time outfielder who hit his way into the Baseball Hall of Fame.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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The most poignant of those messages came from safety Josh Metellus, who posted a broken heart emoji that indicated the Vikings were moving on from his best friend.—
Dane Mizutani,
Twin Cities,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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According to the sages of Wall Street, the legacy cable/satellite/telco-TV bundle is as dead as the Diplodocus, although there are still an awful lot of customers banging around in that null set.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 Jan. 2025
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Or at least Eren couldn’t, and his conclusion ably demonstrated the scientific value of null results.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The town of Rock Springs sprouts out of a vacant landscape of sandstone cliffs and sagebrush in southern Wyoming.—
Michael Luo,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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Gaethje also fell short in his second try at winning the UFC 155-pound belt, dropping a submission to Charles Oliveira for the vacant title in May 2022.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Serving many different customers The advantages of such a platform include superior image quality, less congested orbits, and natural debris removal as inoperable satellites are pulled down into Earth's atmosphere and burnt up.—
Eric Berger,
Ars Technica,
3 Mar. 2025
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Four refrigeration units were inoperable at the time of the inspection.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacramento Bee,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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With that money spread out over the course of his contract and into the four void years after his deal expires, his cap hit in 2025 is now $52.574 million.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Mar. 2025
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By repeating his plan to clear out Gaza, Trump has shifted the Overton window in the Middle East and reinforced the idea that Palestinians’ claims are somehow void.—
Hussein Ibish,
The Atlantic,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperative. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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