inspire means to infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration. It carries an Arena rating of 1840, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, inspire ranks #40 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,351 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,897 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,461 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
inspire is pronounced /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/.
Why “inspire” is a great word
To fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially something creative or uplifting. From the Latin inspīrāre, meaning "to breathe into, blow upon, excite," from in- ("into") + spīrāre ("to breathe"). Unlike "motivate," which provides an external incentive to act, or "encourage," which offers support to the hesitant, to inspire is to ignite an internal, animating fire. It is the breath that gives life to clay, the stray shaft of sunlight that turns a grey wall gold, and the single, perfectly chosen word that unlocks a symphony in a silent mind—an act not of pushing, but of awakening a spirit already latent within.
Etymology
From Middle English inspiren, enspiren, from Old French inspirer, variant of espirer, from Latin īnspīrāre (“inspire”), itself a loan-translation of Biblical Ancient Greek πνέω (pnéō, “breathe”), from in + spīrō (“breathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Displaced native Old English onbryrdan (literally “to prick in”).
verb
- To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration.e.g.“Dawning day new comfort hath inspired.” — c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggar
- To infuse into; to affect, as with a superior or supernatural influence; to fill with what animates, enlivens or exalts; to communicate inspiration to.e.g.“Elders should inspire children with sentiments of virtue.”
- To draw in by the operation of breathing; to inhale.e.g.“By means of those sulfurous coal smokes the lungs are as it were stifled and extremely oppressed, whereby they are forced to inspire and expire the air with difficulty.” — 1672, Gideon Harvey, Morbus Anglicus, Or, The Anatomy of Consumptions:
- To infuse by breathing, or as if by breathing.
- To breathe into; to fill with the breath; to animate.
- To spread rumour indirectly.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.