Main Entry: in·spire

Pronunciation: \in-ˈspī(-ə)r\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): in·spired; in·spir·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French inspirer, from Latin inspirare, from in- + spirare to breathe

Date: 14th century

transitive verb 1 a : to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration b : to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on <was particularly inspired by the Romanticists> c : to spur on : impel, motivate <threats don't necessarily inspire people to work> d : affect <seeing the old room again inspired him with nostalgia>
2 a archaic : to breathe or blow into or upon b archaic : to infuse (as life) by breathing
3 a : to communicate to an agent supernaturally b : to draw forth or bring out <thoughts inspired by a visit to the cathedral>
4 : inhale 1
5 a : bring about, occasion <the book was inspired by his travels in the Far East> b : incite
6 : to spread (rumor) by indirect means or through the agency of anotherintransitive verb : inhale

— in·spir·er noun