Meaning

• Not active, temporarily or permanently.

  "An inactive boy, he rarely exercised and preferred to stay indoors."

• Not functioning or operating; broken down

  "The photocopier is inactive pending repair."

• Retired from duty or service.

  "Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list."

• Relatively inert.

  "Aluminium is inactive towards water."

• Showing no optical activity in polarized light.

  "Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form."