inercia

inertia

noun ee-NEHR-syah Rare

Origin: Latin inertia (inactivity, sluggishness).

Usage Note

Inercia is used both in physics (Newton's first law) and figuratively to mean the tendency to do nothing or continue unchanged out of habit. The figurative phrase por inercia ('out of inertia' or 'on autopilot') is very common in everyday speech. The adjective inerte means inert.

Examples

"Seguimos haciéndolo así por inercia."

Natural Translation

We keep doing it that way out of inertia.

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