rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryinertiaResistance to changes in motion
noun

inertia

ih-NUR-shuh/ɪˈnɜːrʃə/

Resistance to a change in an existing state of motion or rest.

The heavy cart's inertia resists the person's initial effort to move it.

A heavy stationary cart resists a person's initial push; person leans with effort, wheels still in place, conveying resistance to starting motion.
Etymology
inLatinnot, without
+ertLatinskill
+iaLatinstate or quality

From “without skill,” the Latin noun came to mean inactivity or idleness. Physics gave that idea a special meaning: matter retains its existing state, whether resting or moving, unless something changes it.

In context

Love & Philosophy with Andrea Hiott53:25
think absolutely if you think about it as in the simplest way of of resistance to uh to change and resistance to stimuli yeah every system if you have no inertia you're not going to live very long
In Continuum: Cognitions from other perspectives, Exploring Xenobots & Bioelectricity, Levin & Hiott

More examples

  • The heavier cart has more inertia than the lighter one.
  • Inertia keeps an object at rest unless a force moves it.
  • The committee's inertia makes even small changes difficult.

Forms

inertia

inertial adjective — Relating to resistance to changes in motion.

Similar words

resistance
Resistance broadly opposes change; inertia specifically concerns rest or motion.