Definition of "inspiration" []

• Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. (noun)
• The condition of being so stimulated. (noun)
• An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention. (noun)
• Something, such as a sudden creative act or idea, that is inspired. (noun)
• The quality of inspiring or exalting: a painting full of inspiration. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For example, the word inspiration literally means “to breathe in.”"
• "If the term inspiration were to fall into disuse, no fact of nature, or history, or language, no event in the life of man, or dealings of God with him, would be in any degree altered."
• "Here, however, inspiration is code for stereotypes and prejudice."