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countable and uncountable, plural inertias or inertiae or inertiæ
(physics, uncountable or countable) The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass. examples
(figuratively) In a person, unwillingness to take action. quotations examples
Men […] have immense irresolution and inertia.
1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter II, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume III (The Guillotine), London: James Fraser, […], book IV (Terror)
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.
1970 August 12 , John Womack, Jr., Zapata and the Mexican Revolution, New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, page 261
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.
2014 March 9, Jacob Steinberg, “Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals”, in The Guardian
(medicine) Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased. examples