Sedentary \Sed"en*ta*ry\, a. [L. sedentarius, fr. sedere to sit:
cf. F. se['e]dentaire. See Sedent.]
1. Accustomed to sit much or long; as, a sedentary man.
"Sedentary, scholastic sophists." --Bp. Warburton.
[1913 Webster]
2. Characterized by, or requiring, much sitting; as, a sedentary employment; a sedentary life. [1913 Webster]
Any education that confined itself to sedentary pursuits was essentially imperfect. --Beaconsfield. [1913 Webster]
3. Inactive; motionless; sluggish; hence, calm; tranquil.
[R.]
"The sedentary earth." --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
The soul, considered abstractly from its passions, is of a remiss, sedentary nature. --Spectator. [1913 Webster]
4. Caused by long sitting. [Obs.]
"Sedentary numbness."
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Zool.) Remaining in one place, especially when firmly attached to some object; as, the oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans. [1913 Webster]
Sedentary spider (Zool.), one of a tribe of spiders which rest motionless until their prey is caught in their web. [1913 Webster]
sedentary
adj
1: requiring sitting or little activity; "forced by illness
to lead a sedentary life"
46 Moby Thesaurus words for "sedentary": abeyant, apathetic, at a standstill, cataleptic, catatonic, dead, dopey, dormant, dull, fixed, flat, foul, groggy, heavy, immobile, in abeyance, in suspense, inactive, inert, languid, languorous, latent, leaden, lifeless, logy, motionless, passive, phlegmatic, quiescent, seated, sitting, slack, sleeping, sluggish, slumbering, smoldering, stagnant, standing, static, stationary, suspended, tame, torpid, unactive, unaroused, unmoving
Define Sedentary and 150,000 other terms at dictionary.net