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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inanimate
Even an inanimate sculpture representing a Black woman gets hit with stereotypical projections.
—
Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 14 May 2025
That adds individuality to sections of inanimate space.
—Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 14 May 2025
That adds individuality to sections of inanimate space.
—Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimate
Adjective
-
Yonah described how the girls were floating unconscious in the water, their life jackets keeping them afloat, as their father—who does not know how to swim—scraped up his hands, feet and back trying to save them.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
-
But before everything hits the fan, Nate is found unconscious, and suspicion is growing around who has committed this crime.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
As a result, this scientific approach to cooking is often derided as cold and unfeeling—the opposite of what good food is supposed to be.—
Erica Westly,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Mar. 2010
-
Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
After immersing yourself in the Odyssey 3D's stereoscopic 3D for a while, though, going back to a 3D game projected on a flat 2D plane feels a bit washed out and lifeless.—
Kyle Orland,
ArsTechnica,
17 July 2025
-
Chávez looked lifeless at the start, barely throwing a punch until late in the fourth round of their cruiserweight bout at Honda Center.—
Greg Beacham,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inanimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimate. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share