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inspire

 [in-spahyuhr]   Origin

in·spire

   [in-spahyuhr] verb, -spired, -spir·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
2.
to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.
3.
to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust.
4.
to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.
5.
to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
EXPAND
6.
to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural influence: writings inspired by God.
7.
to guide or control by divine influence.
8.
to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by influence, without avowal of responsibility.
9.
to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that inspired a revolution.
10.
to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing; inhale.
11.
Archaic.
a.
to infuse (breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually followed by into).
b.
to breathe into or upon.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
12.
to give inspiration.
13.
to inhale.

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Inspire is one of our favorite verbs.
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chat, to converse
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
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Origin:
1300–50; Middle English inspiren < Latin inspīrāre to breathe upon or into, equivalent to in- in-2 + spīrāre to breathe

Related forms
in·spir·a·tive  [in-spahyuhr-uh-tiv, in-spi-rey-tiv] , adjective
in·spir·er, noun
in·spir·ing·ly, adverb
pre·in·spire, verb (used with object), -spired, -spir·ing.
pseu·do·in·spir·ing, adjective
EXPAND
re·in·spire, verb, -spired, -spir·ing.
un·in·spir·ing, adjective
un·in·spir·ing·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To inspire
Collins
World English Dictionary
inspire (ɪnˈspaɪə)
 
—vb
1.  to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon (a person); animate or invigorate
2.  (tr; foll by with or to; may take an infinitive) to arouse (with a particular emotion or to a particular action); stir
3.  (tr) to prompt or instigate; give rise to: her beauty inspired his love
4.  (tr; often passive) to guide or arouse by divine influence or inspiration
5.  to take or draw (air, gas, etc) into the lungs; inhale
6.  archaic (tr)
 a.  to breathe into or upon
 b.  to breathe life into
 
[C14 (in the sense: to breathe upon, blow into): from Latin inspīrāre, from spīrāre to breathe]
 
in'spirable
 
—adj
 
in'spirative
 
—adj
 
in'spirer
 
—n
 
in'spiringly
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

inspire
mid-14c., from O.Fr. enspirer (12c.), from L. inspirare (see inspiration), a loan-translation of Gk. pnein in the Bible. General sense of "influence or animate with an idea or purpose" is from late 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

inspire in·spire (ĭn-spīr')
v. in·spired, in·spir·ing, in·spires
To draw in breath; to inhale.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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