inspire

[in-spahyuh r]

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.
1. to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually followed by into).
2. to breathe into or upon.

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

to give inspiration.
to inhale.

Origin of inspire

1300–50; Middle English inspiren < Latin inspīrāre to breathe upon or into, equivalent to in- in-² + spīrāre to breathe

Related formsin·spir·a·tive

[in-spahyuh r-uh-tiv, in-spi-rey-tiv] /ɪnˈspaɪər ə tɪv, ˈɪn spɪˌreɪ tɪv/, adjectivein·spir·er, nounin·spir·ing·ly, adverbpre·in·spire, verb (used with object), pre·in·spired, pre·in·spir·ing.pseu·do·in·spir·ing, adjectivere·in·spire, verb, re·in·spired, re·in·spir·ing.un·in·spir·ing, adjectiveun·in·spir·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inspirer

Historical Examples of inspirer

Affection is the inspirer, intellect the up-and-doing agent of the soul.
Cyropaedia
Xenophon
The inspirer of that revival of the Blanco party tottered where he stood.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
Joseph Conrad
How could it have been otherwise, when her teacher and inspirer was love?
Hidden Hand
Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
He—the man—was the inspirer of that thing that to him seemed the most perfect of its kind.
The Rescue
Joseph Conrad
It is the mother of art; inspirer of poet, patriot and philosopher.
Sex=The Unknown Quantity
Ali Nomad

British Dictionary definitions for inspirer

inspire

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 toher 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
1. to breathe into or upon
2. to breathe life into

Derived Formsinspirable, adjectiveinspirative, adjectiveinspirer, nouninspiringly, adverb

Word Origin for inspire

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

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

Word Origin and History for inspirer

c.1500, agent noun from inspire.

inspire

mid-14c., enspiren, "to fill (the mind, heart, etc., with grace, etc.);" also "to prompt or induce (someone to do something)," from Old French enspirer (13c.), from Latin inspirare "inflame; blow into" (see inspiration), a loan-translation of Greek pnein in the Bible. General sense of "influence or animate with an idea or purpose" is from late 14c. Also sometimes used in literal sense in Middle English Related: Inspired; inspires; inspiring.

inspirer in Medicine

inspire

[ĭn-spīr′]

To draw in breath; to inhale.