1
as in to encourage
to fill with courage or strength of purpose
the rousing campaign speech inspired everyone to get out the vote
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to elicit
to draw out (something hidden, latent, or reserved)
what inspired that comment?
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3
as in to educate
to provide (someone) with moral or spiritual understanding
great works of visual art can inspire us in ways that the written word often cannot
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inspire
Scientists at Penn State have developed a flexible, high-power hydrogel battery inspired by electric eels.
—
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Like its sister hotels in Nantucket and Palm Beach, the property’s signature restaurant, Lola, will have a menu inspired by destinations along the 41st parallel, from Nantucket to Japan.
—Amy Tara Koch, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2026
The season is inspired by Michael Connelly's novel The Law of Innocence and will test Mickey like never before.
—Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Pointing to Mitchell in the audience, Allen said Mitchell had inspired her to start songwriting and playing guitar at age eight.
—Lily Moayeri, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inspire
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
Like its sister hotels in Nantucket and Palm Beach, the property’s signature restaurant, Lola, will have a menu inspired by destinations along the 41st parallel, from Nantucket to Japan.
—Amy Tara Koch, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2026
The season is inspired by Michael Connelly's novel The Law of Innocence and will test Mickey like never before.
—Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Pointing to Mitchell in the audience, Allen said Mitchell had inspired her to start songwriting and playing guitar at age eight.
—Lily Moayeri, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inspire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inspire
Verb
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Warned about assignments, encouraged to job hunt This story is based on interviews with 10 current and former Post staffers drawn from both the newsroom and the business side of the paper.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Matt Damon, the star of many movies that college students may not have seen, said that Netflix has started encouraging filmmakers to put action sequences in the first five minutes of a film to get viewers hooked.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Lobotka would dearly love to see Neapolitans out in the streets again and the tears of joy a fifth Scudetto would elicit.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Jonathan Tropper’s screenplay hits all the right notes for this sort of thing, even eliciting genuinely emotional moments from Bautista and especially Momoa.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
27 Jan. 2026
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The talking heads educated the viewers about the basics of climbing, all while host Elle Duncan repeatedly reminded us that Honnold could die at any moment.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The rooms Boutique interior architecture and design firm Fettle Design handled The Inn’s interiors, which evoke a strong sense of place without reverting to overtly Western clichés.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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Even the establishing shots start to evoke those time-lapse interstitials on reality shows.—
Anna Gaca,
Pitchfork,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inspire. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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