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
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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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.
But the world’s digital embrace of the big native rodents seems to have inspired a new appreciation of them, even a sort of national pride.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
Summer sparkles with possibility, and in this season, we’re inspired by the arrival of new energy and new faces.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Betwen 1975 and 2011, just 547 films inspired around 2,000 games -- 10 percent of the total published over the period, he estimated.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Paul McCartney releases an album inspired by his youth in Liverpool, Marilyn Monroe gets a centenary-celebrating exhibition in Los Angeles, Brendan Fraser’s Dwight D. Eisenhower contemplates storming the beaches of Normandy, and more.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
Galton was inspired by Quetelet’s measurements and ventured deeper into the measurement of human variance.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
