sedentary

10 synonyms and 7 antonyms for sedentary, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Involving or characterised by much sitting and little physical activity.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

resident settled

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

inactive seated idle stationary

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

desk-bound immobile non-migratory sessile

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Involving or characterised by much sitting and little physical activity.

“Years of sedentary office work left him stiff and out of condition.”

inactive desk-bound seated idle immobile

Opposites

active mobile strenuous

2. adjective biology

Of an animal, staying in one place rather than migrating; of a species, fixed to a surface for most of its life.

“Unlike its migratory cousins, this warbler is sedentary and stays on the island all year.”

non-migratory resident sessile

Opposites

migratory nomadic motile

3. adjective anthropology, history

Of a people or way of life, settled in one place rather than moving from place to place.

“Farming allowed once-nomadic groups to become sedentary.”

settled stationary

Opposites

nomadic itinerant

How to use sedentary

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

sedentary lifestyle sedentary behaviour sedentary job largely sedentary

Neutral; very common in health, fitness and medical writing.

Etymology

From Latin sedentarius 'sitting, of one who sits at work', from sedere 'to sit'.

Full origin of sedentary →

Frequently asked questions

How many hours of sitting counts as sedentary?

Researchers usually define sedentary behaviour as any waking activity done sitting or reclining that burns very little energy, rather than by a fixed number of hours. In practice studies often flag people who sit more than about eight hours a day with little moderate exercise as at raised risk.

What is the difference between sedentary and inactive?

Sedentary describes the sitting itself; inactive means not getting enough exercise. You can be both, but you can also be physically active in the gym and still spend most of the day sedentary, which carries its own health risk.

How do you pronounce sedentary?

SED-ən-ter-ee in American English and SED-ən-tri or SED-ən-tər-ee in British English. The stress is on the first syllable.

People also searched

active mobile settled resident seated idle stationary inactive migratory nomadic strenuous motile

Nearby words

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