- stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, etc, to special or unusual activity or creativity
- the state or quality of being so stimulated or aroused
- someone or something that causes this state
- an idea or action resulting from such a state
- the act or process of inhaling; breathing in
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•spi•ra•tion /ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- anything that inspires:[countable]The painter's inspiration came from nature.
- something inspired:[countable]She got a sudden inspiration to reverse the wires, and it worked.
- Religion[Theol.]a divine influence felt directly by the soul:[uncountable]divine inspiration for writing the books of the Bible.
- Physiology[uncountable] the drawing of air into the lungs;
inhalation.
in•spi•ra•tion
(in′spə rā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- an inspiring or animating action or influence:I cannot write poetry without inspiration.
- something inspired, as an idea.
- a result of inspired activity.
- a thing or person that inspires.
- [Theol.]
- Religiona divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.
- Religionthe divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.
- Physiologythe drawing of air into the lungs;
inhalation. - the act of inspiring;
quality or state of being inspired.
- Late Latin inspīrātiōn- (stem of inspīrātiō). See inspire, -ation
- Middle English inspiracio(u)n 1275–1325
- 1. stimulus, incitement.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
inspiration /ˌɪnspɪˈreɪʃən/ n
'inspiration' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acid rock
- afflatus
- beacon
- blank
- Bloch
- brainwave
- Castalia
- Delius
- demon
- demoniac
- dry up
- duende
- Helicon
- Hippocrene
- ho-hum
- inspire
- inspirational
- invocation
- invoke
- Lake Poets
- lightbulb moment
- prophesy
- prophet
- romantic
- source
- sterile
- uphold
- whoop
- whooping cough
- absolute music
- afflated
- ancestor
- ancestral
- best
- brain wave
- draw
- ecstasy
- flash
- fount
- Frisbee
- inspiratory
- inspired
- luminary
- manufacture
- oracular
- Pierian
- Pierian Spring
- pit
- plentiful
- pneumatometer