English synonyms about - contact  

inaction

Roget category 681

5. Words relating to the voluntary powers
5.3. Voluntary action
›› 5.3.1. Simple voluntary action

#681. Inaction

noun

inaction, passiveness, abstinence from actionnoninterference, noninterventionFabian policy, conservative policyneglect etc. 460.
inactivity etc. 683rest etc. (repose) 687quiescence etc. 265want of occupation, inoccupationidle hours, time hanging on one's hands, dolce far niente [It]sinecure, featherbed, featherbedding, cushy job, no-show jobsoft snap, soft thing.

verb

not do, not act, not attemptbe inactive etc. 683abstain from doing, do nothing, hold, sparenot stir, not move, not lift a finger, not lift a foot, not lift a pegfold one's arms, fold one's handsleave alone, let alonelet be, let pass, let things take their course, let it have its way, let well alone, let well enough alonequieta non movere [Lat.]stare super antiquas vias [Lat.]rest and be thankful, live and let livelie rest upon one's oarslaisser aller [Fr.], faire [Fr.]stand aloofrefrain etc. (avoid) 623, keep oneself from doingremit one's efforts, relax one's effortsdesist etc. (relinquish) 624stop etc. (cease) 142pause etc. (be quiet) 265.
wait, lie in wait, bide one's time, take time, tide it over.
cool one's heels, kick one's heelswhile away the time, while away tedious hourspass the time, fill up the time, beguile the timetalk against timelet the grass grow under one's feetwaste time etc. (inactive) 683.
lie by, lie on the shelf, lie in ordinary, lie idle, lie to, lie fallowkeep quiet, slughave nothing to do, whistle for want of thought.
undo, do away withtake down, take to piecesdestroy etc. 162.

adjective

not doing etc. v. — not done etc. v. — undonepassiveunoccupied, unemployedout of employ, out of workfallowdesaeuvre [Fr.].

adverb

re infecta [Lat.], at a stand, les bras croisis [Fr.], with folded armswith the hands in the pockets, with the hands behind one's backpour passer le temps [Fr.].

interjection

so let it be!, stop!, etc. 142hands off!,

phrase

cunctando restituit rem [Lat.], If it ain't broke don't fix it" [Bert Lance]; stare decisis [Lat.], let the decision stand

The content on this page comes straight from Project Gutenberg Etext of Roget's Thesaurus No. Two, which consists of the acclaimed work by Peter Mark Roget augmented with more recent material. Some changes were made to the formatting for improved readability.

Bold numbers signify related Roget categories. A dagger symbol (†) indicates archaic words and expressions no longer in common use.

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