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inertia
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
inertia
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
overcome
▪ In my opinion the hardest task on the holding is to overcome inertia, to make a start on the daunting task.
▪ Not long after PageMaker shipped, Apple began overcoming its engineering inertia.
▪ Such initiatives tended to be overcome in time by inertia and indifference.
▪ Ideas need to be tested by their ability, in combination with events, to overcome inertia and resistance.
▪ In addition to overcoming its own inertia, Nintendo also may face a problem because its new system uses game cartridges.
▪ But I can not overcome the emotional inertia.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ the inertia and bureaucracy of large companies
▪ The group helped me overcome my inertia and lose weight.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Inertia

Inertia \In*er"ti*a\, n. [L., idleness, fr. iners idle. See Inert.]

  1. (Physics) That property of matter by which it tends when at rest to remain so, and when in motion to continue in motion, and in the same straight line or direction, unless acted on by some external force; -- sometimes called vis inerti[ae]. The inertia of a body is proportional to its mass.

  2. Inertness; indisposition to motion, exertion, or action; lack of energy; sluggishness.

    Men . . . have immense irresolution and inertia.
    --Carlyle.

  3. (Med.) Lack of activity; sluggishness; -- said especially of the uterus, when, in labor, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

    Center of inertia. (Mech.) See under Center.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
inertia

1713, introduced as a term in physics 17c. by German astronomer and physician Johann Kepler (1571-1630), from Latin inertia "unskillfulness, idleness," from iners (genitive inertis) "unskilled, inactive;" see inert. Used in Modern Latin by Newton (1687). Sense of "apathy" first recorded 1822.

Wiktionary
inertia

n. 1 (context physics uncountable or countable English) The property of a body that resists any change to its uniform motion; equivalent to its mass. 2 (context figuratively English) In a person, unwillingness to take action. 3 (context medicine English) Lack of activity; sluggishness; said especially of the uterus, when, in labour, its contractions have nearly or wholly ceased.

WordNet
inertia
  1. n. a disposition to remain inactive or inert; "he had to overcome his inertia and get back to work" [syn: inactiveness, inactivity] [ant: activeness]

  2. (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain is state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force

Wikipedia
Inertia

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion (this includes changes to its speed, direction or state of rest). It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics that are used to describe the motion of objects and how they are affected by applied forces. Inertia comes from the Latin word, iners, meaning idle, sluggish. Inertia is one of the primary manifestations of mass, which is a quantitative property of physical systems. Isaac Newton defined inertia as his first law in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which states:

In common usage, the term "inertia" may refer to an object's "amount of resistance to change in velocity" (which is quantified by its mass), or sometimes to its momentum, depending on the context. The term "inertia" is more properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his First Law of Motion: an object not subject to any net external force moves at a constant velocity. Thus, an object will continue moving at its current velocity until some force causes its speed or direction to change.

On the surface of the Earth, inertia is often masked by the effects of friction and air resistance, both of which tend to decrease the speed of moving objects (commonly to the point of rest), and gravity. This misled the philosopher Aristotle to believe that objects would move only as long as force was applied to them:

Inertia (comics)

Inertia, in comics, may refer to:

  • Inertia (Marvel Comics), a paramour of Haywire
  • Inertia (DC Comics), a supervillainous clone
Inertia (Marvel Comics)

Inertia is the name of two separate, but related fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Inertia (disambiguation)

Inertia means resistance to change. It is used in different ways in many different disciplines, some of which are listed below:

Inertia (short story)

"Inertia" is a short story written by Nancy Kress, and published in 2004 as part of the book Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse.

Inertia (anxiety)

Inertia is a problem associated with anxiety and autism. People who experience inertia often experience feeling "paralyzed" when they are faced with stressful tasks.

Inertia (2001 film)

Inertia is a Canadian drama film, directed by Sean Garrity and released in 2001.

The film stars Jonas Chernick, Sarah Constible, Gordon Tanner and Micheline Marchildon as Joseph, Laura, Bruce and Alex, four young professionals in Winnipeg, Manitoba who are embroiled in a "love rhombus" in which each is in unrequited love with one of the others.

The film won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival,

Inertia (The Exies album)

Inertia is the second studio album from the U.S. alternative rock band The Exies, released on January 7, 2003. The video to the first single "My Goddess" was directed by hip hop video director Diane Martel. The concept of the video revolved around the band playing in front of oncoming traffic- some of which were doing speeds as high as 70 miles an hour. "My Goddess" was filmed on Highway 2 in Los Angeles County in the fall of 2002.

It is their most successful album, reaching #115 on the Billboard 200. Inertia and their next studio album Head for the Door have sold over a combined 400,000 units.

Inertia (record company)

Inertia is an independent record company based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in March 2000 by Ashley Sellers. Inertia releases exclusively the music from many of the world's most prominent independent labels. Inertia services include marketing, promotion, sales, distribution, product management, production, digital, publishing, third party, rights administration, and merchandising. Inertia also houses labels Pod, Inertia Recordings, Rogue Records and Provenance, each of which license releases from select local and international acts.

Inertia currently releases albums from many popular artists including Adele, Sia Furler, Bon Iver, The Herd, Radiohead, The National, Battles, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, UNKLE, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, M.I.A., Midnight Juggernauts, The xx, Floating Me, Glass Towers, Best Coast, Fat Freddy's Drop, Wavves and Ice Cube. Over the last decade, the label has also worked with The White Stripes, Mos Def, Santigold, Ben Lee, TV On The Radio, The Dandy Warhols, Frightened Rabbit, Dizzee Rascal and Eagles Of Death Metal.

Usage examples of "inertia".

The neighbours acquiesced in the inertia - but the foetor none the less formed an additional count against the place.

It took Varro Lucullus and his six lictors to drag Caesar off him, though some men in the crowd wondered afterward at the inertia of the nine tribunes of the plebs, who made no move to help Hybrida at all.

I knew what his plan was: use his maneuverability against my speed, catch me when my inertia was too great to let me turn away from him.

A group of civilians caromed out with the spastic overcorrections of folk who thought of gravity, not inertia, when they moved.

In theory to allow children and adolescents undistracted time for their studies and premilitary training, although she suspected it was just as much a simple case of institutional inertia: the system worked well and nobody had reason enough to push for a change.

Liber VI Gaius Iulius Caesar post 52 Prooemium I Coactus assiduis tuis vocibus, Balbe, cum cotidiana mea recusatio non difficultatis excusationem, sed inertiae videretur deprecationem habere, rem difficillimam suscepi.

Liber VIII Aulus Hirtius post 52 Prooemium I Coactus assiduis tuis vocibus, Balbe, cum cotidiana mea recusatio non difficultatis excusationem, sed inertiae videretur deprecationem habere, rem difficillimam suscepi.

To deal with the incumbent in power is the easiest course and the inertia of policy in foreign affairs resists the effort to change or take chances.

The slug stops, but it seems to do so reluctantly, as if it has come alive, and part of its liveliness is a resentment of the physical law which deals with inertia.

We also have some of our broadcasts printed as pamphlets in India and sold for a few annas, a thing that could be useful but is terribly hard to organize in the face of official inertia and obstruction.

American Governors had all the customs, all the inertia of the age-long past with which to battle in every field.

The guaranties offered the state or authority are ample, because it has not only conscience, moral sentiment, interest, habit, and the via inertia of the mass, but the whole physical force of the nation, at its command.

Daily she watched what she was doing to herself and was appalled, but inertia overweighed everything and nothing changed.

Troy struck and rebounded, starting to spin off into space again, but he managed to grapple one of the top towers, swinging around until he finally damped his inertia.

In bodies subject to gravity, this tendency reveals itself as their inertia.