inanimate

American  

[in-an-uh-mit] / ɪnˈæn ə mɪt /

adjective

1. not animate; lifeless.

   Synonyms:

   dead, inert, mineral, vegetable, inorganic

2. spiritless; sluggish; dull.

   Synonyms:

   torpid, dormant, inactive

3. 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).

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inanimate British  

/ ɪnˌænɪˈmeɪʃən, ɪnˈænɪmɪt /

adjective

1. lacking the qualities or features of living beings; not animate

   inanimate objects

2. lacking any sign of life or consciousness; appearing dead

3. lacking vitality; spiritless; dull

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Other Word Forms

• inanimateness
  noun
• inanimation
  noun
• inanimately
  adverb

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inanimate

Juliette Lewis will spend the majority of the film’s runtime inanimate; a chic vegetable that her friends draw lipstick on and talk to, as if she were as normal and responsive as any other day.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

“We’re just building the world, so you need some rules, otherwise all the inanimate objects can start talking,” Plaza says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026

Humans have a tendency to anthropomorphize animals and even inanimate objects, says Ayanna Howard, dean of Ohio State University’s College of Engineering and a roboticist who has researched why humans blindly trust machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

Rice cakes join a long list of inanimate objects that time-poor young Chinese have jokingly adopted for low-maintenance companionship in recent years, ranging from mango pits, to rocks, to cardboard dogs.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

In the less than two decades of their use, the synthetic pesticides have been so thoroughly distributed throughout the animate and inanimate world that they occur virtually everywhere.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson