What does immobile mean?
Immobile means unable to move or be moved. The word most often describes a person, vehicle, object, or part of the body that is fixed in place or unable to operate: an injured limb may be immobile, while a disabled vehicle remains immobile on the roadside. It can also be used figuratively to describe people, institutions, or situations that cannot act, change, or make progress. In that sense, “the negotiations became immobile” suggests a complete lack of movement or development rather than merely a temporary pause. Immobile is a formal adjective with broad recognition in British and American English. It is related in meaning to motionless, stationary, fixed, and immovable, although immobile particularly emphasizes an inability to move. Its opposite is mobile or movable.
adjectiveUnable to move or be moved. Also, unable to act, change, or make progress.
- Unable to move or be moved.
- Unable to act, change, or make progress.
"The injured runner lay immobile on the track while medical staff arrived."
"The car remained immobile after the accident."
"Flooding left several neighborhoods immobile for several days."
From the Latin immobilis, literally 'not movable,' immobile describes a stillness that can be physical, practical, or emotional.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does immobile come from?
Immobile comes from the Latin immobilis, formed from in-, meaning 'not,' and mobilis, meaning 'movable.' English borrowed the word in the early 19th century, initially for physical inability to move. It later developed figurative uses for situations, institutions, and processes that cannot change or advance. Its root is shared with mobile, mobility, and mobilize, as well as the second element in automobile.
Related word forms
How immobile is actually used
Immobile is formal and widely understood in both British and American English. It can describe physical immobility, but it is also used figuratively for a person, organization, or situation that cannot act or change.
Easily confused with immobile
Both words can mean unable to be moved, but immobile more often describes a person or thing that cannot move, whereas immovable also commonly refers to an obstacle, principle, or decision that cannot be altered.