inspiration
Americannoun
-
inspirations
plural
-
an inspiring or animating action or influence.
I cannot write poetry without inspiration.
- Synonyms:
- incitement, stimulus
-
something inspired, as an idea.
-
a result of inspired activity.
-
a thing or person that inspires.
-
Theology.
-
a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.
-
the divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.
-
-
the drawing of air into the lungs; inhalation.
-
the act of inspiring; quality or state of being inspired.
noun
-
stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, etc, to special or unusual activity or creativity
-
the state or quality of being so stimulated or aroused
-
someone or something that causes this state
-
an idea or action resulting from such a state
-
the act or process of inhaling; breathing in
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of inspiration
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English inspiracio(u)n, from Late Latin inspīrātiōn-, stem of inspīrātiō literally “a breathing in,” from inspīrāt(us) “breathed in” (past participle of inspīrāre; see inspire) + -iō -ion
Explanation
An inspiration is a product of your thought, like a brilliant idea. If you have the next revolutionary inspiration like the printing press, the telephone, or the computer, you may just change the world. The noun inspiration can also mean a sudden intuition or idea, or something that arouses your desire to take action. You may find that doing some routine provides inspiration (gets your creative juices flowing), like going for a walk, looking at art, or reading a great poem. Inspiration can also mean breathing in or inhaling.
Vocabulary lists containing inspiration
An Inspirational Back-to-School Word List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Ingenious Lexicon of Invention
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
On social media, users have shared the election results as a source of inspiration, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya, where major elections are due in 2027.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
The post claimed to draw inspiration from Paul Verhoeven’s “Starship Troopers,” in which the soldiers are deliberately modeled on the fascist aesthetic and ideology of the Nazis.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026
Portuguese protesters have taken inspiration from a similar movement in neighbouring Spain, where tents have stood in central Madrid and other cities for weeks.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
"This study highlights why it's so important for a molecular technology development lab like ours to keep looking to nature for inspiration," Shipman says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
Rather than offset the effect with a string of pearls, she reached in a moment’s inspiration for a necklace of pure jet.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
But that is the great joy of Anderson’s “Resident Evil” films: They are so remarkably stylized, so absurdly over-the-top, so referential and deferent to Anderson’s own inspirations, that they’ve become singular visions.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
It would be interesting to see what creative inspirations the Europeans brought back from their American sojourns in addition to novel crops and precious metals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Hopkins weaves in old Welsh folk tunes and nods to impressionistic inspirations like Vaughan Williams and Frederick Delius.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Many of Iraola's attacking principles resemble those of one of his long-time managerial inspirations, the former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The second is missing the commas that delimit the phrases making up the list of inspirations: cooking, her family, and her dog.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
