inspire
Americanverb (used with object)
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to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence.
His courage inspired his followers.
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to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.).
to inspire confidence in others.
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to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc..
to inspire a person with distrust.
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to influence or impel.
Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
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to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does.
They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
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to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence.
writings inspired by God.
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to guide or control by divine influence.
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to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility.
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to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc..
a philosophy that inspired a revolution.
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to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
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Archaic.
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to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually followed byinto ).
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to breathe into or upon.
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verb
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to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon (a person); animate or invigorate
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(tr; foll by with or to; may take an infinitive) to arouse (with a particular emotion or to a particular action); stir
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(tr) to prompt or instigate; give rise to
her beauty inspired his love
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(tr; often passive) to guide or arouse by divine influence or inspiration
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to take or draw (air, gas, etc) into the lungs; inhale
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archaic (tr)
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to breathe into or upon
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to breathe life into
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Other Word Forms
- inspirable adjective
- inspirative adjective
- inspirer noun
- inspiringly adverb
- preinspire verb (used with object)
- pseudoinspiring adjective
- reinspire verb
- uninspiring adjective
- uninspiringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of inspire
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English inspiren, from Latin inspīrāre “to breathe upon, breathe into,” equivalent to in- in- 2 ( def. ) + spīrāre “to breathe”
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.
Yet what makes this potentially the most important new opera of the year is not Huang’s agreeably efficient — and once in a while inspired — score, which incorporates Western and traditional music.
From Los Angeles Times
I’d recently started writing my novel, “King of the Armadillos,” inspired by his experience, and he was helping me access material from the archives of the National Hansen’s Disease Museum.
From Salon
He further explained that complicated questions in the competition force the programme to its limits and has inspired developers to continuously improve the programme accordingly through new features such as Copilot.
From BBC
Stamirowska said the name of Pathway’s architecture is inspired by the dragons in Terry Pratchett’s novel “Color of Magic,” which appear more frequently as the characters think about them.
Backyard Party, run by Jay and partners Sandra Denver and Matt Chait, is inspired by Pasadena lore — the backyard shows that helped launch Van Halen.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
