1. (n.) 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 inertiae.

2. (n.) Inertness; indisposition to motion, exertion, or action; want of energy; sluggishness.

3. (n.) Want of activity; sluggishness; -- said especially of the uterus, when, in labor, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

a wise passiveness abeyance apathy catalepsy catatonia cautiousness circumspection contemplation contemplative life creeping deadliness deathliness deliberateness deliberation dilatoriness do-nothing policy do-nothingism do-nothingness dormancy drawl dullness entropy ergophobia faineancy faineantise firmness foot-dragging hibernation hoboism idleness immobility immobilization immovability immovableness inaction inactiveness inactivity indifference indolence inertness inexertion inextricability inflexibility irremovability just being laggardness laissez-aller laissez-faire laissez-faireism languor lassitude latency laziness leisureliness lentitude lentor listlessness lotus-eating lull meditation mere existence mere tropism motionlessness neutralism neutrality neutralness noninvolvement nonparticipation nonresistance nonviolence nonviolent resistance pacifism paralysis passive resistance passive self-annihilation passiveness passivism passivity pokiness policy procrastination quiescence quietism reluctance remissness rigidity shiftlessness slackness sloth slothfulness slowness sluggardy sluggishness solidity spring fever stagnancy stagnation standpattism stasis suspense suspension tentativeness torpor underactivity unmovability unyieldingness vagrancy vegetation vis inertiae vita contemplativa waiting game watching and waiting