inoperative

adjective

in·​op·​er·​a·​tive (ˌ)in-ˈä-p(ə-)rə-tiv 

-ˈä-pə-ˌrā-

: not operative: such as

a

: not functioning

an inoperative clock

b

: having no effect or force

an inoperative law

inoperativeness noun

Synonyms

• dead
• dormant
• fallow
• free
• idle
• inactive
• inert
• latent
• off
• unused
• vacant

Examples of inoperative in a Sentence

The accident had rendered the vehicle inoperative.

With the new federal law in place, the state law has become inoperative.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Mexico broke ground earlier this year on the rehabilitation of the San Antonio de los Buenos plant in Punta Bandera, a facility in Baja California that has been inoperative for years. —Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024

Our test Ocean was plagued with squeaky pedals, an inoperative California mode (where the EV drops all its windows save the windscreen) forcing a switch in car mid-test, and poor handling that was supposedly to be fixed with a software update. —Jeremy White, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024

These placebos always involved hardware, but the hardware could be either inoperative or mis-directed. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2023

According to a document filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last October, Caitlyn Peca, a then-rookie officer with the Fowlerville Police Department, pulled over Akima for operating a vehicle with an inoperative headlight on Feb. 19, 2020. —David Chiu, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1631, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

inoperative

adjective

in·​op·​er·​a·​tive (ˈ)in-ˈäp-(ə-)rət-iv 

-ˈäp-ə-ˌrāt-

: not functioning : producing no effect

an inoperative law

Legal Definition

inoperative

adjective

in·​op·​er·​a·​tive i-ˈnä-pə-rə-tiv 

: having no force or effect

an inoperative will