Sedentary Meaning, Usage, and Examples

Meaning 1：involving much sitting (sedentary)

sedentary 🔊

/ˈsɛd.ən.ter.i/

adj.

involving a lot of sitting and not much physical movement.

Sedentary person sitting at desk with computer and coffee

involving much sitting 🔊

➕

/ɪnˈvɑːlvɪŋ mʌtʃ ˈsɪtɪŋ/

adj.

Involving a lot of sitting and little physical activity; often used to describe a lifestyle or job that requires long periods of sitting.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'sedēre' (to sit) + '-ary', meaning 'pertaining to sitting'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'SEDENTARY' = 'sit' + 'dental'? No, just 'sit' + 'entary' — picture someone sitting all day in a dentist chair.

📖 Example

Her new job is very sedentary, requiring her to sit at a computer for eight hours a day, which she worries might be bad for her health. 🔊 Her new job is very sedentary, requiring her to sit at a computer for eight hours a day, which she worries might be bad for her health.

🔗 Collocations

sedentary lifestyle – a way of living that involves little physical exercise

sedentary job – a job that requires sitting for most of the workday

sedentary behavior – activities that involve sitting or lying down with low energy expenditure

🔄 Synonyms

inactive (adj.) – not engaging in physical activity; motionless

desk-bound (adj.) – required to sit at a desk for most of the working day

stationary (adj.) – not moving or changing position; fixed

🚫 Antonyms

active (adj.) – engaging in regular physical movement or exercise

mobile (adj.) – able to move freely and easily

energetic (adj.) – full of energy and activity

🌱 Derivatives

sedentariness (n.) – the state or quality of being sedentary

sedentarily (adv.) – in a sedentary manner

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'sedentarius' ('sitting'), used in 16th-century English to describe animals that stay in one place, later applied to human lifestyles with little physical activity.