as in unconscious
lacking animate awareness or sensation
"pathetic fallacy" is the literary term for the ascription of human feelings or motives to inanimate natural elements
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inanimate
Songbirds bond for seasons, octopuses defend their mates, and children shower their affection on inanimate plushies.
—
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 Nov. 2025
Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Of these performances, its is the most inanimate and yet evocative.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 June 2025
While there are several categories of verbs, language learners first learn two—inanimate and animate verbs—in order to be able to conjugate and speak the most basic of sentences.
—Literary Hub, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 Nov. 2025
Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Of these performances, its is the most inanimate and yet evocative.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 June 2025
While there are several categories of verbs, language learners first learn two—inanimate and animate verbs—in order to be able to conjugate and speak the most basic of sentences.
—Literary Hub, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimate
Adjective
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The unconscious Moon moves through your 9th House of Distance, opposing undisciplined Uranus in your conversation zone.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
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Implicit learning involves learning an unconscious habit or skill such as riding a bike.—
Akshay Syal,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.—
Matthew Ponsford,
WIRED,
19 Sep. 2024
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But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.—
Lauren Gill,
ProPublica,
29 Apr. 2023
Adjective
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The greatest accusation levied against her is the crime of being an unfeeling mother.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
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Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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This is partly because the loss of insentient machinery, no matter how expensive, is easier to stomach than the death of an aircrew.—
Lauren Kahn,
Foreign Affairs,
6 June 2023
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But its shortcomings are essentially those of the novel: its single-track didacticism; its neat pitting of romantic idealists against macho, insentient normies; and the fact that a decisive plot twist can be spotted a mile off.—
Houman Barekat,
New York Times,
29 Mar. 2023
Adjective
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When Liam returns from a hunting trip to discover signs of a bear, and the lifeless body of his wife, he is left alone with his child.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
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Our Bill of Rights is not a lifeless relic.—
Chris Mattei,
Hartford Courant,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inanimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimate. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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