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Can inane Be Used As a Noun?
Inane suggests emptiness in thought or meaning, and as a noun it has similar use, as in "thoughts making excursions into the incomprehensible inane" (the example is attributed to the 17th-century philosopher John Locke). The noun is not often used nowadays, but the adjective fills the void.
Examples of inane in a Sentence
Adjective
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.
Noun
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
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.
Noun
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
Vintage footage shows the guys hanging out in their suite at the Plaza, joking around with the film crew, doing phone interviews, responding with insouciant humor to inane questions in press encounters or cutting loose at the Peppermint Lounge.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022
My guess is that the patriotic disguise is hollow and that the inane, formulaic Maverick is a test.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for inane
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Adjective
Post Malone, who closed out the festival Sunday night, has a more legible personality, but songs that are just as anonymous and perhaps even more inane.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 14 Apr. 2025
Vintage footage shows the guys hanging out in their suite at the Plaza, joking around with the film crew, doing phone interviews, responding with insouciant humor to inane questions in press encounters or cutting loose at the Peppermint Lounge.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
Noun
June 19: [At the disco Private Eyes, with Greg and friends]: spent a couple of hours amidst the inane thumping music.
—Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022
My guess is that the patriotic disguise is hollow and that the inane, formulaic Maverick is a test.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for inane
Cite this Entry
“Inane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inane. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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