Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

inertia

/ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: in-er-tia
IPA: /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/

7

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

In a person, unwillingness to take action.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Men […] have immense irresolution and inertia."
"Not all the surviving veteran chiefs would actually fight. Some remained nominally in the resistance but in practice delayed at their bases, pretexting a lack of ammunition for their uncertain inertia."
"City had been woeful, their anger at their own inertia summed up when Samir Nasri received a booking for dissent, and they did not have a shot on target until the 66th minute."

Etymology

From Latin inertia (“lack of art or skill, inactivity, indolence”), from iners (“unskilled, inactive”), from in- (“without, not”) + ars (“skill, art”). Something close to the modern physics sense was first used in New Latin by Johannes Kepler.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: inertia, -

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/
British English: /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

inertias (plural) inertiae (plural) inertiæ (plural)

Derived Forms

entreprenertia inertial inertialess microinertia

Phrases

bureaucratic inertia center of inertia centre of inertia inertia selling inertia time inertia welding moment of inertia practico-inertia

Frequently Paired Words

inert inertness

Synonyms

idleness laziness sloth slothfulness inactiveness inactivity

Rhymes With

saoirse entreprenertia

Questions

How do you pronounce inertia?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/.
What does inertia mean?: The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass.
Where does inertia come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce inertia

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “inertia”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪnˈɜː.ʃə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “inertia”.
Repeat and practice — Say “inertia” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.