Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use inaction in a sentence

17 example sentences · noun

Inaction means lack of action or activity or labor. Example: “The school's inaction further sanctions this misbehavior.”

Examples of inaction by meaning

nounLack of action or activity or labor.

  • The school's inaction further sanctions this misbehavior.
  • Hmm, yes, 'negotiations' is an interesting choice of words given that ministers have steadfastly refused to meet the unions for the past year; a clear case of industrial inaction.2024 March 20, Christian Wolmar, “NAO report highlights lack of clarity and purpose”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 35

More sentences with inaction

  • A waffle is the action, or inaction, of making up your mind.2012, Lawrence Winkler, “Stroopwafel”, in Between the Cartwheels, [S.l.]: Lawrence Winkler, →ISBN. From the entry stroopwafel
  • The evidence on the seriousness of the risks from inaction or delayed action is now overwhelming.2007 November 29, Alison Benjamin, “Stern: Climate change a 'market failure'”, in The Guardian. From the entry market failure
  • Instead of brainstorming and problem-solving, professionals blamestormed, creating more problems and inaction.2004 October 1, “Create a no-blame lab environment.”, in Medical Laboratory Observer. From the entry blamestorm
  • The Senate version of the House measure now bobs quietly in the horse latitudes of legislative inaction.2000 July 24, Froma Harrop, “When a tax-free Internet robs the states, guess who they will tax?”, in Free Lance-Star, retrieved 16 May…. From the entry horse latitudes
  • Given that the Prince of Denmark is himself legendary for vacillation and inaction, this always seemed a mite cheeky to me.2018 November 29, Brian Taylor, “Brexit and sellers of fish”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2019. From the entry a mite
  • Some, such as author Sara Schulman, blame the problem on the “homocrats” seduced into inaction by Bill Clinton.2001, Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine. From the entry homocrat
  • "It's a difference between action and inaction.1992 July 24, Gwen Ifill, “The 1992 campaign: Clinton, in Houston Speech, Assails Bush on Crime Issue”, in New York Times, retrieved 08…. From the entry talk a good game
  • And being of warm blood he had not the phlegm tacitly to negative any proposition by unresponsive inaction.1924, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.. From the entry negative
  • Both denial and doomism serve the purpose of creating a justification for inaction, but doomism serves those who can't stomach the fever swamps of denialism.2020, Ketan Joshi, Windfall: Unlocking a fossil-free future, →ISBN. From the entry doomism
  • “Noynoying”, which has become a synonym for inaction, was inspired by the Philippines’ president, Benino Aquino III, known to many by his nickname “Noynoy”.2012, “'Noynoying': the Art of Making Fun of President 'Noynoy'’s Inaction”, in The Observers. From the entry noynoying
  • On Iran, Biden said Washington will strive to act preventively and avoid having to choose between the risks of war and the dangers of inaction.2009 February 8, “Biden says U.S. ready to talk but remains prepared to act”, in Toronto Star. From the entry preventively
  • For years, China and the United States have engaged in a dangerous Alphonse-and-Gaston routine, using each other's inaction to shirk their responsibility.2009 September 23, New York Times, editorial. From the entry Alphonse and Gaston
  • The cost of inaction was recently outlined in a report by Deloitte, which estimated that poor mental health costs employers in the UK up to £45 billion per year.2020 July 1, Paul Stephen, “Vital Connections”, in Rail, page 41. From the entry mental health
  • The absence of any well established union structure can severely inhibit and possibly damage a service standard by virtue of the resultant inaction on behalf of inadequately motivated staff.1977, R. D. Taylor, “Trade Unions and Librarianship”, in Gileon Holroyd, editor, Studies in Library Management, volume 4, London: Clive…. From the entry albethey
  • WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.2020 March 11, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “WHO Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19”, in World Health…. From the entry pandemic

Meaning of inaction

  1. noun Lack of action or activity or labor.

Full definition of inaction

Questions about inaction in a sentence

How do you use inaction in a sentence?
Inaction is used as a noun. For example: “The school's inaction further sanctions this misbehavior.”
What is a short sentence with inaction?
“"It's a difference between action and inaction.”
What does inaction mean?
Inaction means lack of action or activity or labor.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: inaction (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use inaction in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/inaction. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.