inaktywny

Inaktywny is a Polish adjective meaning not active; it describes a state of inactivity, nonfunctioning, or idleness. It can refer to people who are not participating, objects that are not operating, or processes that are not currently active. The form has masculine, feminine, and neuter variants (inaktywny, inaktywna, inaktywne) and is used in both everyday language and technical contexts.

Etymology and usage notes: the word is built from the base aktywny (active) with a negating prefix, commonly realized in Polish as in- or, in some stylistic registers, nie-. In everyday speech, nieaktywny is more widely used, while in technical or formal writing inaktywne forms may appear. The related noun forms include inaktywacja (the act of inactivation) and the verb inaktywować (to deactivate).

Contexts and examples: in biology and medicine, inaktywny often describes biological states or preparations, such as an enzym inaktywowany (inactive enzyme) or a wirus inaktywny (inactivated virus). A well-established usage is szczepionka inaktywowana, meaning an inactivated vaccine, produced by rendering pathogens nonfunctional. In everyday language, one might describe a person as inaktywny w danym projekcie if they are not participating, or a device as inaktywne when it is not currently in use.

See also: related terms include aktywny (active), nieaktywny (not active), inaktywacja (inactivation), and inaktywować (to deactivate). The word is part of a broader set of Polish terms describing states of activity and can be contrasted with terms denoting activity, engagement, or activation in various domains.