Definitions, Translations, and Word of the Day
Definition of "inspire" []
- To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence. (verb-transitive)
- To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion: hymns that inspire the congregation; an artist who was inspired by Impressionism. (verb-transitive)
- To stimulate to action; motivate: a sales force that was inspired by the prospect of a bonus. (verb-transitive)
- To affect or touch: The falling leaves inspired her with sadness. (verb-transitive)
- To draw forth; elicit or arouse: a teacher who inspired admiration and respect. (verb-transitive)
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.
Use "inspire" in a sentence
- "Did the family background you discovered while writing On Gold Mountain inspire you to focus on this aspect of your genetic inheritance in your fiction?"
- "Sharing beautiful language and great stories that thrill and inspire is a pleasure for adults and children well into the middle-school years, and storytelling is such a welcome relief from all the policing jobs parents have to do."
- "Perhaps we can get women back into following good sense regarding clothing, and once again inspire the masculine men to paint pictures of them for all time, paintings that future generations would not be ashamed to see."