inspire
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English inspiren, enspiren, from Old French inspirer, variant of espirer, from Latin īnspīrāre, present active infinitive of īnspīrō (“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”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪn.ˈspaɪɹ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪn.ˈspaɪə(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Audio (UK) (file)
Verb[edit]
inspire (third-person singular simple present inspires, present participle inspiring, simple past and past participle inspired)
- (transitive) 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.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Wisdom 15:11:
- He knew not his Maker, and him that inspired into him an active soul.
- c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- Dawning day new comfort hath inspired.
- 2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, page 172:
- Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.
- (transitive) To infuse into; to affect, as with a superior or supernatural influence; to fill with what animates, enlivens or exalts; to communicate inspiration to.
- Elders should inspire children with sentiments of virtue.
- The captain's speech was aimed to inspire her team to victory in the final.
- 1697, “The Seventh Book of the Æneis”, in Virgil; John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:
- Erato, thy poet's mind inspire, / And fill his soul with thy celestial fire.
- (intransitive) To draw in by the operation of breathing; to inhale.
- 1672 Gideon Harvey, Morbus Anglicus, Or, The Anatomy of Consumptions
- 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.
- (archaic, transitive) To breathe into; to fill with the breath; to animate.
- 1708, Alexander Pope, Ode for Music on St Cecilia's Day:
- Descend, ye Nine, descend and sing, / The breathing instruments inspire.
- (transitive) To spread rumour indirectly.
Conjugation[edit]
conjugation of inspire
infinitive | inspire | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | inspiring | ||||||||||
past participle | inspired | ||||||||||
simple | progressive | perfect | perfect progressive | ||||||||
present | I inspire | we inspire | I am inspiring | we are inspiring | I have inspired | we have inspired | I have been inspiring | we have been inspiring | |||
you inspire | you inspire | you are inspiring | you are inspiring | you have inspired | you have inspired | you have been inspiring | you have been inspiring | ||||
he inspires | they inspire | he is inspiring | they are inspiring | he has inspired | they have inspired | he has been inspiring | they have been inspiring | ||||
past | I inspired | we inspired | I was inspiring | we were inspiring | I had inspired | we had inspired | I had been inspiring | we had been inspiring | |||
you inspired | you inspired | you were inspiring | you were inspiring | you had inspired | you had inspired | you had been inspiring | you had been inspiring | ||||
he inspired | they inspired | he was inspiring | they were inspiring | he had inspired | they had inspired | he had been inspiring | they had been inspiring | ||||
future | I will inspire | we will inspire | I will be inspiring | we will be inspiring | I will have inspired | we will have inspired | I will have been inspiring | we will have been inspiring | |||
you will inspire | you will inspire | you will be inspiring | you will be inspiring | you will have inspired | you will have inspired | you will have been inspiring | you will have been inspiring | ||||
he will inspire | they will inspire | he will be inspiring | they will be inspiring | he will have inspired | they will have inspired | he will have been inspiring | they will have been inspiring | ||||
conditional | I would inspire | we would inspire | I would be inspiring | we would be inspiring | I would have inspired | we would have inspired | I would have been inspiring | we would have been inspiring | |||
you would inspire | you would inspire | you would be inspiring | you would be inspiring | you would have inspired | you would have inspired | you would have been inspiring | you would have been inspiring | ||||
he would inspire | they would inspire | he would be inspiring | they would be inspiring | he would have inspired | they would have inspired | he would have been inspiring | they would have been inspiring | ||||
imperative | inspire |
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
- (inhale): expire
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit
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to infuse into; to affect, as with a superior or supernatural influence
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to inhale — see inhale
to infuse by breathing, or as if by breathing
archaic: to breathe into; to fill with the breath; to animate
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Anagrams[edit]
Asturian[edit]
Verb[edit]
inspire
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Verb[edit]
inspire
- inflection of inspirer:
Portuguese[edit]
Verb[edit]
inspire
- first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of inspirar
- third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of inspirar
- third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of inspirar
- third-person singular (você) negative imperative of inspirar
Romanian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
inspire
Spanish[edit]
Verb[edit]
inspire
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of inspirar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of inspirar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of inspirar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of inspirar.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English 3-syllable words
- Rhymes:English/aɪə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/aɪə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- Asturian non-lemma forms
- Asturian verb forms
- French terms with audio links
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms
- Portuguese non-lemma forms
- Portuguese verb forms
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian non-lemma forms
- Romanian verb forms
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ar