inanimate
not animate; lifeless.
spiritless; sluggish; dull.
Linguistics. belonging to a syntactic category or having a semantic feature that is characteristic of words denoting objects, concepts, and beings regarded as lacking perception and volition (opposed to animate).
Origin of inanimate
1Other words for inanimate
Other words from inanimate
- in·an·i·mate·ly, adverb
- in·an·i·mate·ness, in·an·i·ma·tion [in-an-uh-mey-shuhn], /ɪnˌæn əˈmeɪ ʃən/, noun
Words Nearby inanimate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use inanimate in a sentence
Having written for Saturday Night Live, Torres’ signature style is deadpan humor, whether in stand-up or while inventing lifelike stories for inanimate objects.
I hate to personify an inanimate object, but I think we owe the sandwich a debt of gratitude.
Some biologists think of them as quasi-alive, while others refer to them as inanimate tiny particles or arrangements of matter.
The Vast Viral World: What We Know (and Don’t Know) - Issue 99: Universality | Lauren E. Oakes | April 7, 2021 | NautilusThat perspective considers all forms of matter, both animate and inanimate.
Is Life Special Just Because It’s Rare? - Issue 95: Escape | Alan Lightman | January 20, 2021 | NautilusWhile inanimate matter doesn’t evolve like animate matter, inanimate matter does behave.
He sits in dark corners of the narrative, a bit inanimate, like a broken chair marring a finely furnished room.
But it is important to recall that even inanimate objects contain stories.
She has been reduced to porter, to Sherpa, to something even less–some inanimate bit of set decoration.
“Thank God for my computer,” says the star, who often films personal “video diaries” with her inanimate friend.
Six Things We Learned From the Beyoncé Documentary | Anna Klassen | February 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTFirearms, after all, are inanimate objects, incapable of inflicting harm on their own initiative.
Angry Gun-Control Debate Does Damage to Both the Right and the Left | Michael Medved | January 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd then the whole meaning—or the lack of meaning—of their inanimate lives was revealed to him.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeAs the Mother of Sorrows she will weep over His inanimate body taken down from the cross.
Mary, Help of Christians | VariousImagine his agony at the sight of his mother,—pale, inanimate, and from time to time writhing under a convulsive chill.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne SueHow a human touch colors the inanimate world with the communicated warmth of its enchantment!
The Woman Gives | Owen JohnsonThe homelessness of men, and even of inanimate vessels, cast away upon strange shores, came strongly in upon my mind.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI | Robert Louis Stevenson
British Dictionary definitions for inanimate
/ (ɪnˈænɪmɪt) /
lacking the qualities or features of living beings; not animate: inanimate objects
lacking any sign of life or consciousness; appearing dead
lacking vitality; spiritless; dull
Derived forms of inanimate
- inanimately, adverb
- inanimateness or inanimation (ɪnˌænɪˈmeɪʃən), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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