inspired
Americanadjective
-
aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence.
an inspired poet.
-
resulting from such inspiration.
an inspired poem;
an inspired plan.
-
inhaled.
inspired air.
adjective
-
aroused or guided by or as if aroused or guided by divine inspiration
an inspired performance
she was like one inspired
-
extremely accurate or apt but based on intuition rather than knowledge or logical deduction
an inspired guess
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inspired
Explanation
Inspired is an adjective that describes something of excellent quality. If your singing in a choral concert is particularly inspired, people can hear your voice hitting all the right notes beautifully. If something is so extraordinary that it's worthy of being described as inspired, you might think that the gods had something to do with its creation. In fact, inspired originally meant "directly inspired by God or gods." It comes from the Latin in-"in" and spirare "to breathe." Maybe such supernatural power did breathe life into something truly excellent. Or maybe the humans just worked very hard and had a great idea.
Vocabulary lists containing inspired
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 3
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This Week in Pop Culture: July 6–July 12, 2019
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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.
When visitors disembark the train, they head to an area inspired by Hogsmeade, a village that sits outside Hogwarts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
My colleagues have some great content to help you have an inspired and enjoyable evening.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
As a college student in the late 1950s he’d been inspired to become a psychiatrist after reading Sigmund Freud’s work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Sam Lewis, a 32-year-old software engineer living in Stockport, used Merlin for several years before he was inspired to build his own bird ID app, Lifer.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It was Schott’s book that inspired Robert Boyle to construct his own air pump in England, and it is perhaps not a coincidence that vacuum experiments were recommenced in Florence in 1657.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
