nonactive

Nonactive is an adjective meaning not active or not currently engaged in activity. It can describe a person who is not participating, a device or system that is not turned on or functioning, or a process that is idle or dormant.

In practice, nonactive is less common than inactive. It may appear in certain technical, organizational, or stylistic contexts and can be written as nonactive (one word) or non-active (hyphenated). Many style guides favor inactive for general use, but nonactive persists in some specialized texts or older literature.

Usage notes and contexts vary by field. In medicine or pharmacology, the standard term is inactive ingredient, which refers to substances in a formulation that do not have therapeutic effect. In computing or project management, non-active or non-active components may be used to designate parts that are presently not loaded or not in use. The choice between nonactive and inactive can depend on established terminology within a specific domain or on house style.

Etymology and relation to other terms: nonactive is formed from the prefix non- + active, with active tracing back to Latin activus from agere, “to act.” The word is related to inactive, deactivation, and activation, which describe states of being active, not active, or transitioning between states.

See also: inactive, inactivity, activation, deactivation.