Agency Dictionary
Inertia
nounPronunciation: /ɪˈnɜːr.ʃə/
In Portuguese: Inércia
Psychology & Mind
Science & HealthWhat does “Inertia” mean?
The tendency of an object to remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force, or a state of sluggish inaction in organizations.
Etymology
From Latin inertia, "lack of art or skill, inactivity, indolence", from iners, "unskilled, inactive", from in- ("without") and ars, artis ("skill, art"). Kepler gave the Latin word its use in physics in the 17th century, and Newton's mechanics fixed it as the tendency of a body to resist changes in its motion. The everyday sense of sluggishness or resistance to change, recorded in English later than the scientific one, is close to the original Latin meaning.
Usage note
In physics, inertia is a precise property: a body remains at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by a force. In everyday use the word means reluctance to move or change.
Synonyms
- passivity
- lethargy
- sluggishness
- stagnation
- immobility
Word family
- inert
- inertial
- inertly
Usage examples
action and thought can work in harmony but can also become forces that cancel each other out with inertia
Writing.2 - Aphorisms If your services and products hit a growth ceiling, or the market is in inertia, it is time to innovate and act, improve products, or make new ones.
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Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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