inane

adjective \ i-ˈnān \

Definition of inane

inaner; inanest

1 :empty, insubstantial

2 :lacking significance, meaning, or point :silly

inane comments

—

inanely

adverb

—

inaneness

play \i-ˈnān-nəs\ noun

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Examples of inane in a Sentence

All around us swirls the battering of gargantuan films, Styrofoam epics with megatons of special effects, gleefully inane adolescent films, horror films that really are horrible. —Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 15 Mar. 2004
The surfeit of home runs is a sop to all the Philistines who require inane diversions like programmed races between electronic dots on the scoreboard to make it through a two-hit shutout. —Nicholas Dawidoff, New York Times Magazine, 4 Apr. 1999
Though feminist leaders are mostly aligned with those sentiments, they can't separate their quest for economic equity from the inane political correctness of their extremist sisters. —Mary Matalin, Newsweek, 25 Oct. 1993
I quickly tired of their inane comments.
The film's plot is inane and full of clichés.

Recent Examples of inane from the Web

Consider this great inane internet debate of years past: Which athletes are best equipped to win a Battle Royale if limited to their own sport’s equipment with no protective padding or helmets?

— gabriel baumgaertner, SI.com, "After Yankees-Tigers Brawl, Has Baseball's Beanball Culture Gone Too Far?," 25 Aug. 2017
Remember how devoted certain kids used to be to Barney, the inane purple dinosaur with his own TV show?

— bill goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, "Review: Offbeat ‘Brigsby Bear’ is charming and disturbing," 17 Aug. 2017
Shortly thereafter, the FBI began to attack the witnesses with perhaps the most inane disinformation ever—alleging the witnesses actually observed a private jet at 34,000 ft.

— Popular Mechanics, "Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report - Flight 93," 1 Aug. 2017
Keep inane conversations with strangers to an absolute minimum.

— ellen warren, chicagotribune.com, "Put your shoes back on, now. Answer Angel lays down the law for airline travel," 3 July 2017
Not only did the Knicks never win more than 32 games in Jackson's tenure, but his inane insistence on being outspoken against stars like LeBron James and Anthony did immense damage to the way the franchise is viewed by the player community.

— sam amick, USA TODAY, "Why did Phil Jackson, Knicks part ways? Let's count the reasons," 28 June 2017
There are a few videos of my brother and me, inane footage of the two of us running around the yard at various ages, sometimes fighting and sometimes actually enjoying each other's company.

— tyler coates, Esquire, "The Last Remaining Evidence of My Father's Voice is Fading Away," 18 June 2017
Finally, deregulation of inane child care regulations, such as Washington, D.C.'s new requirement that child care workers obtain college degrees, will make work economically practical.

— vanessa brown calder, CNN, "How paid family leave hurts women," 30 May 2017
Bumptious reporters shove microphones into faces and ask inane questions, and cameras are trained interminably on fires and auto accidents.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "WDSU and the first TV broadcast in New Orleans history," 12 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inane.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of inane

Latin inanis

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First Known Use: 1662

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inane Synonyms

Synonyms

empty, meaningless, pointless, senseless

Antonyms

meaningful, significant

Related Words

frivolous, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant; absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dotty, empty-headed, fatuous, foolish, half-witted, harebrained, insane, jerky, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, mindless, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unintelligent, unwise, wacky (also whacky), weak-minded, witless, zany; irrational, unreasonable; aimless, haphazard, purposeless

Near Antonyms

eloquent, expressive, pregnant, revealing, suggestive, telling; logical, rational, reasonable, valid; consequential, eventful, important, key, major, momentous, substantial, weighty

Synonym Discussion of inane

insipid, vapid, flat, jejune, banal, inane mean devoid of qualities that make for spirit and character. insipid implies a lack of sufficient taste or savor to please or interest.

- an insipid romance with platitudes on every page

vapid suggests a lack of liveliness, force, or spirit.

- an exciting story given a vapid treatment

flat applies to things that have lost their sparkle or zest.

- although well-regarded in its day, the novel now seems flat

jejune suggests a lack of rewarding or satisfying substance.

- a jejune and gassy speech

banal stresses the complete absence of freshness, novelty, or immediacy.

- a banal tale of unrequited love

inane implies a lack of any significant or convincing quality.

- an inane interpretation of the play

inane

noun \ i-ˈnān \

Definition of inane

:void or empty space

a voyage into the limitless inane
—V. G. Childe

Examples of inane in a Sentence

And thus likewise we sometimes speak of place, distance, or bulk in the great inane beyond the confines of the world. —John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1689

Can inane Be Used As a Noun?

The adjective "inane" is now most commonly encountered as a synonym of "shallow" or "silly." But when this word first entered the English language in the early 17th century, it was used to mean "empty" or "insubstantial." It was this older sense that gave rise, in the latter half of the 17th century, to the noun "inane," which often serves as a poetic reference to the void of space ("the illimitable inane," "the limitless inane," "the incomprehensible inane"). This noun usage has not always been viewed in a favorable light. Samuel Johnson, in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755), says of "inane" that "it is used licentiously for a substantive," which in current English means that it is used as a noun without regard to the rules.