inertia
pronunciation
How to pronounce inertia in British English:
UK [ɪˈnɜːʃə]
How to pronounce inertia in American English:
US [ɪˈnɜːrʃə]
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- Noun:
- a disposition to remain inactive or inert
- (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain is state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
Word Origin
- inertia (n.)
- 1713, introduced as a term in physics 17c. by German astronomer and physician Johann Kepler (1571-1630), from Latin inertia "unskillfulness, idleness," from iners (genitive inertis) "unskilled, inactive;" see inert. Used in Modern Latin by Newton (1687). Sense of "apathy" first recorded 1822.
Example
- 1. Cultural inertia , though , is just one problem .
- 2. A decade after founding fairchild , frustrated again by corporate inertia , moore and noyce themselves bolted fairchild .
- 3. Players use gravity and inertia to flick cartoon birds into structures hiding unsuspecting porcine antagonists .
- 4. A demonstrably false conceptual core is sustained by inertia alone .
- 5. Corruption , feuds and administrative inertia are making reform all but impossible .