Sedentary
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈsɛd.ən.tɛɹ.i/ · Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: Sedentary is an adjective meaning Not moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity.
Meaning
Not moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity.
More Meanings
- (anthropology, of a human population) Living in a fixed geographical location; the opposite of nomadic.
- (medicine, of a job, lifestyle, etc.) Not moving much; sitting around.
- a sedentary person
- (obsolete) Inactive; motionless; sluggish; tranquil.
- (obsolete) Caused by long sitting.
Example Sentences
The oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans.
[…]the Egyptians; whose Sages were not sedentary, scholastic Sophists, like the Grecian[…]
till length of years And sedentary numbness craze my limbs To a contemptible old age obscure.
Such restless revolution day by day Repeated, while the sedentary earth That better might with far less compass move[…]
Word Forms
- sedentaries
Synonyms for sedentary
Depending on context, synonyms include immobile, motionless, settled, non-migratory, chairborne, sitsome.
Antonyms for sedentary
Common opposites include migratory.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include inactive, inactivity, untrained, static, discrete, settled.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.