Inoperative

//ɪnˈɒp(ə)ɹətɪv// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not working or functioning; either idle or broken. not-comparable

    "Let me see if I can dial this number right quick / "I am sorry, the government you have elected is inoperative / Click. Inoperative""

  2. 2
    No longer legally binding. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    not working or taking effect wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
badbarrenbootlessbrokencounterproductivecrippled

Example

More examples

"Another concept, this one from Virginia-based Raytheon BBN Technologies, would use a balloon-lofted, high-altitude air gun to change the course of potentially dangerous orbital junk, such as inoperative satellites."

Etymology

From in- + operative.

Related phrases

legally binding

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.