inspire

[ in-spahyuhr ]

See synonyms for: inspire inspired inspires inspiring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),in·spired, in·spir·ing.

to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.

to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust.
to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God.
to guide or control by divine influence.
to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility.
to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that inspired a revolution.
to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
Archaic.
- to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually followed by into).
- to breathe into or upon.

verb (used without object),in·spired, in·spir·ing.

to give inspiration.
to inhale.

Origin of inspire

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English inspiren, from Latin inspīrāre “to breathe upon, breathe into,” equivalent to in- in-² + spīrāre “to breathe”

Other words from inspire

in·spir·a·tive [in-spahyuhr-uh-tiv, in-spi-rey-tiv], /ɪnˈspaɪər ə tɪv, ˈɪn spɪˌreɪ tɪv/, adjective
in·spir·er, noun
in·spir·ing·ly, adverb
pre·in·spire, verb (used with object), pre·in·spired, pre·in·spir·ing.
pseu·do·in·spir·ing, adjective
re·in·spire, verb, re·in·spired, re·in·spir·ing.
un·in·spir·ing, adjective
un·in·spir·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inspire in a sentence

I want to make sure that the virtual platform is at a place and so efficient that a kid in India can tap in and be inspired.
Plight at the Museum | Jen Trolio | November 20, 2020 | Vox
Do says he was inspired to work on the SSD after spending many years working on surgical robots.
This artificial skin feels ‘ghosts’ — things you wish were there | Stephen Ornes | November 20, 2020 | Science News For Students
An additional two readers sent me their markets-inspired poems to share.
The great disconnect: Big cash is surging into the markets, and yet COVID is socking stocks | Bernhard Warner | November 20, 2020 | Fortune
Our point is really to inspire them and to show them what is possible and what we can do to transform ourselves.
Leveraging collective intelligence and AI to benefit society | Jason Sparapani | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
If we push further, the impossible can even inspire the creation of new mathematical worlds.
Some Math Problems Seem Impossible. That Can Be a Good Thing. | Patrick Honner | November 18, 2020 | Quanta Magazine

William Butler Yeats once called Carlyle “the chief inspirer of self-educated men.”
Hitler's Bedtime Reading | Timothy Ryback | October 17, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
But for that, Mishkin would have succeeded, and the great inspirer of the youth of Russia would have been given back to the world.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
He is the offspring of Heaven and Earth, the two worlds; is the inspirer of prayer and the guide and protector of the pious.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 | Various
The priest was possibly his inspirer; but the priest came one day to the residencia.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI | Robert Louis Stevenson
But, on the other hand, it is emphatically true that this same folk-music was to him a potent inspirer and trainer.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick Niecks
He has been an inspiration to France, the inspirer of the nations.
American Sketches | Charles Whibley

British Dictionary definitions for inspire

inspire

/ (ɪnˈspaɪə) /

verb

to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon (a person); animate or invigorate
(tr; foll by with or to; may take an infinitive) to arouse (with a particular emotion or to a particular action); stir

(tr) to prompt or instigate; give rise to: her beauty inspired his love
(tr; often passive) to guide or arouse by divine influence or inspiration
to take or draw (air, gas, etc) into the lungs; inhale
(tr) archaic
- to breathe into or upon
- to breathe life into

Origin of inspire

C14 (in the sense: to breathe upon, blow into): from Latin inspīrāre, from spīrāre to breathe

Derived forms of inspire

inspirable, adjective
inspirative, adjective
inspirer, noun
inspiringly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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