Meaning & use
immobile
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not moving, or unable to move.
Grammar: Used after a verb or before a noun: she lay immobile.
Patterns
- lie immobile
- remain immobile
The deer stood immobile at the edge of the road.
After the surgery, he was immobile for a week.
The heavy stone lay immobile in the field.
adjectivenot comparable
Unable to be moved easily because of weight, size or fixing in place.
Grammar: Often describes objects or structures.
Patterns
- immobile structure
The immobile statue dominated the square.
The machine was too heavy and so remained immobile.
An immobile fence line divides the property.
Common combinations
- remain immobile
- The patient had to remain immobile.
- stand immobile
- He stood immobile in shock.
- lie immobile
- The cat lay immobile in the sun.
- completely immobile
- The truck sat completely immobile in the mud.
- immobile with fear
- She was immobile with fear.
Synonyms and how they differ
- motionless
- Motionless describes not moving at the moment, while immobile can also mean unable to move.
- stationary
- Stationary is used for things that normally move, like vehicles, and are now still.
- paralyzed
- Paralyzed suggests loss of movement from fear or injury.
- static
- Static suggests no change at all, often in abstract situations.
Opposites
Word family
- immobility noun
- the state of not moving
- immobilize verb
- to stop something from moving
- mobile adjective
- able to move
- mobility noun
- ability to move
Commonly confused: immobile or immovable?
immobile vs immovable
Immovable means impossible to move or change; immobile means not moving, though it may only be temporary.
Practice
After the fall, the hiker lay ______ until the rescue team arrived.
Choose one answer.
Immobile means not moving. Imminent means about to happen, and immune means protected from a disease.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “immobile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.