inanimate
Americanadjective
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not animate; lifeless.
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spiritless; sluggish; dull.
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Linguistics. belonging to a syntactic category or having a semantic feature that is characteristic of words denoting objects, concepts, and beings regarded as lacking perception and volition (opposed to animate).
adjective
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lacking the qualities or features of living beings; not animate
inanimate objects
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lacking any sign of life or consciousness; appearing dead
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lacking vitality; spiritless; dull
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of inanimate
From the Late Latin word inanimātus, dating back to 1555–65. See in- 3, animate
Explanation
Inanimate describes a non-living thing. Chairs, baseballs, sofa cushions and sadly, snowmen, are all inanimate objects. We can break inanimate down into two Latin roots: in, which means “not,” and animatus, which translates to “alive.” So inanimate means simply, "not alive." That include things that are recently dead, things that were never alive to begin with, and things that simply look dead: A bear in hibernation may appear inanimate due to its decreased heart rate, but don’t be fooled — it’s very much alive.
Vocabulary lists containing inanimate
Speak Your Mind: Anim
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Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Inanimate objects carry within them a mystical force that can awaken these lost feelings of grief, joy and love.
From Salon • Dec. 4, 2022
The piece is one of several in the Upstate New York artist’s Adah Rose Gallery show, “The Anatomy of an Inanimate Object,” that use a new but characteristically humble material: junk mail.
From Washington Post • Oct. 20, 2021
Inanimate sources have profiles with no discernible features.
From Scientific American • Oct. 4, 2021
Here’s how our pilgrims of love progressed this week: Best Supporting Role by an Inanimate Object: Sometimes a bridge is just a bridge.
From Time • Jan. 17, 2012
Inanimate objects exert, now and then, 'strange influences.'
From Genuine Mediumship or The Invisible Powers by Atkinson, William Walker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
