inanimate

adjective in·an·i·mate \ (ˌ)i-ˈna-nə-mət \

Updated on: 7 Apr 2018

Definition of inanimate

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

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inanimately

adverb

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inanimateness

noun

See inanimate defined for English-language learners

See inanimate defined for kids

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 of inanimate from the Web

Similarly, try mis-tagging photos of friends—or use photos of celebrities, cartoons, or inanimate objects—to confuse Facebook’s facial recognition and computer vision algorithms.

— lil miss hot mess, WIRED, "A Drag Queen’s Guide to Protecting Your Privacy on Facebook By Breaking the Rules," 3 Apr. 2018
Sometimes, inanimate objects can be there for us in a way that people can’t.

— lindsey lanquist, SELF, "7 Women Share Photos of the Surprising Things That Helped Them Get Over a Breakup," 18 Dec. 2017
But Cappy's most enduring feature is the ability to take over control of certain enemies, onlookers, and even previously inanimate objects, which sport Mario's trademark cap and mustache to indicate they've been temporarily possessed.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Super Mario Odyssey review: Mario’s densest, deepest adventure yet," 26 Oct. 2017
What chemical process were involved to transform inanimate substances into living organisms?

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "New Study Suggests Life Started on Earth Much Earlier Than Thought," 2 Oct. 2017
Libra is represented by the scales, the only inanimate object of the zodiac.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "What This Week's Horoscope Means for You," 2 Oct. 2017
There is scarcely enough space on this page to cover even a fraction of the people, institutions, and inanimate objects that are to blame for Donald Trump's misfortunes.

— luke o'neil, Esquire, "Nine Years Ago, Trump Quite Literally Opposed Blaming Others for His Problems," 19 Oct. 2016
According to your book, physics describes the actions or tendencies of every living thing—and inanimate ones as well.

— john stanmeyer, National Geographic, "What's the Meaning of Life? Physics.," 30 May 2016
The latter is a person who prefer is attracted to inanimate objects, and, as Servier explains in his complaint, includes himself.

— joshua stewart, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Rep. Susan Davis, three other House Dems sued for displaying Pride flag," 19 July 2017

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

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.)