inane

adjective \ i-ˈnān \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: inane in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Can inane Be Used As a Noun?

Definition of inane

inaner; inanest

1 : empty, insubstantial

2 : lacking significance, meaning, or point : silly

inane comments

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inanely

adverb

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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

Jackie waits for his response, some inane joke, some way to break the tension of the moment.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award finalist: "Nothing Less Than 20,000 Watts" by Susan Finch," 2 June 2018
But the discussion of this uncertainty largely got lost in the inane questions about whether climate change and sea level rise are actually happening.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Clean air, water on voters’ agenda, but not Congress’," 18 May 2018
Sure, there were plenty of inane facts about the chapel's windows (looking at you, BBC) and an almost CSI-level analysis on CBS of the car ride that brought Meghan to the chapel.

— kelly lawler, USA TODAY, "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry: A royal, rousing and surprisingly relatable TV wedding," 19 May 2018
Last Wednesday, Danny Tarkanian and his wife and former Nevada GOP chair, Amy, sat down for a long, inane interview with local conservative radio host Kevin Wall to discuss the campaign, his policies and, of course, Kanye West.

— jason johnson, The Root, "Kanye West Invades the Nevada Congressional Race, and Now I’m Forced to Write About Him," 9 May 2018
Virtual assistants field answers to nearly any inane question.

— Washington Post, "Can Facebook restore public trust after privacy scandal?," 24 Mar. 2018
Virtual assistants field answers to nearly any inane question.

— CBS News, "Can Facebook restore public trust after Cambridge Analytica scandal?," 24 Mar. 2018
According to the Hollywood Reporter, network execs are reassessing E!'s red-carpet coverage, which, so far, amounts to scrapping the mani cam and thinking hard about not wasting Naomi Watts's air time on inane questions about her frittata.

— chelsea peng, Marie Claire, "Melissa Rivers Joins 'Fashion Police' as a Co-Host Alongside Giuliana Rancic, Brad Goreski," 18 June 2015
No, no and no, and stop asking such inane questions.

— chuck culpepper, Anchorage Daily News, "Curling fan etiquette 101: Babies, yes. Music, no. Mumbling, yes. Chanting, no.," 16 Feb. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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inane Synonyms

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.