inanimate

adjective

in·​an·​i·​mate (ˌ)i-ˈna-nə-mət How to pronounce inanimate (audio)
1
: not animate:
a
: not endowed with life or spirit
an inanimate object
b
: lacking consciousness or power of motion
an inanimate body
2
: not animated or lively : dull
inanimately adverb
inanimateness noun

Did you know?

The couch you sit on while you watch TV is an inanimate object, as is your footrest, your bag of snacks, and your remote control. Spend too much time on that couch and you risk becoming a couch potato. (A potato is an inanimate object.)

Examples of inanimate in a Sentence

“pathetic fallacy” is the literary term for the ascription of human feelings or motives to inanimate natural elements
Recent Examples on the Web The crew pretends to be inanimate whenever the boy is present despite the social hierarchy wherein Woody, their playmate's favorite toy, presides at the top. Devin Nealy, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2023 Jean Paul Gaultier’s first designs were made on an inanimate teddy bear. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2024 Few other physical systems, perhaps in the entire universe, convert inanimate materials so readily, and so profusely, into life. Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2023 Kimmerer, botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, speaks about her humility for the intelligence of all kinds of life that most people in the West see as inanimate. Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023 Maybe you aren’t taken any further than the boxy TV in your living room — the one that was normally off-limits during daytime hours, but which became an inanimate physician and endlessly enabling babysitter whenever your body’s temperature hit 100. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Aug. 2023 Early on in the raunchy talking-animals comedy Strays, a montage plays of four dogs humping inanimate lawn ornaments, guzzling beer leaking from trash bags, and bonding over a plan to bite off a man’s genitals. Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2023 After its lunar flyby, the spacecraft — which is designed to fly astronauts but is carrying only inanimate, scientific payloads for its first mission — is expected to travel more than 40,000 miles beyond the far side of the moon, the furthest a spacecraft intended to carry humans has ever traveled. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 21 Nov. 2022 Though it's designed to carry humans, Orion's passengers for this test mission will be of the inanimate variety, including some mannequins collecting vital data to help future crews. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 15 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inanimate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin inanimatus, from Latin in- + animatus, past participle of animare to animate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of inanimate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near inanimate

Cite this Entry

“Inanimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inanimate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inanimate

adjective
in·​an·​i·​mate (ˈ)in-ˈan-ə-mət How to pronounce inanimate (audio)
1
: not having life
stones are inanimate
an inanimate object
2
: not animated or lively : dull
inanimately adverb

Medical Definition

inanimate

adjective
in·​an·​i·​mate (ˈ)in-ˈan-ə-mət How to pronounce inanimate (audio)
: not animate:
a
: not endowed with life or spirit
b
: lacking consciousness or power of motion

More from Merriam-Webster on inanimate

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