Inactive vs Absent - What's the difference?
inactive | absent |
Not active, temporarily or permanently
Not functioning or operating; broken down
Retired from duty or service
(chemistry) Relatively inert
(physics) Showing no optical activity in polarized light
(not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.
* 1623 , (William Shakespeare), All’s Well That Ends Well, II-iii
(not comparable) Not existing; lacking.
(sometimes, comparable) Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied.
* 1746-1747 , Chesterfield, Letters to his Son
(legal) In the absence of; without.
* 1919 , State vs. Britt, Supreme Court of Missouri, Division 2, in The Southwestern Reporter , page 427
* 2011 , David Elstein, letter, London Review of Books , XXXIII.15:
(transitive, now, reflexive) Keep away; stay away; go away.
*
* 1701-1703 , , "Remarks on Italy"
*
(obsolete) Stay away; withdraw.
(rare) Leave.
As adjectives the difference between inactive and absent
is that inactive is not active, temporarily or permanently while absent is being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.As a noun absent is
absentee; a person who is away on occasion.As a preposition absent is
in the absence of; without.As a verb absent is
keep away; stay away; go away.inactive
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The volcano is inactive , but is only dormant.
- The photocopier is inactive pending repair.
- Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list.
- Aluminium is inactive towards water.
- Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form.
Derived terms
* inactively * inactivitySynonyms
* (not active) dull, dormant * (not functioning or operating) idleAntonyms
* (not active) activeabsent
English
Alternative forms
*Etymology 1
* From (etyl) absent, (etyl) .Adjective
(er)- Expecting absent friends.
- The part was rudimental or absent .
- What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man.
Antonyms
* presentPreposition
(English prepositions)- If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute.
- the Princess Caroline case [...] established that – absent a measurable ‘public interest’ in publication – she was safe from being photographed while out shopping.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) absenter, from .Verb
(en verb)- Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more;
- If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined.
- This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.