1
as in motivation
something that arouses action or activity
She traveled cross-country seeking inspiration for her next book. He credits his mother as his inspiration for becoming a social worker.
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2
as in creativity
the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others
They were a group of young artists filled with inspiration.
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3
as in uplift
a feeling of ease from grief or trouble
The return of summer brought with it a new sense of inspiration.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inspiration
Surf and sea inspirations evoked a siren feel.
—
Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
Your disposition and attitude is an inspiration.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2025
Here are stars whose children served as inspiration for their tattoos.
—Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Ramos admitted to taking inspiration from Harry Kane, who scored from a similarly clinical move against Barcelona last season after floating behind the defensive line throughout most of the build-up to the goal.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inspiration
Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
Your disposition and attitude is an inspiration.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2025
Here are stars whose children served as inspiration for their tattoos.
—Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Ramos admitted to taking inspiration from Harry Kane, who scored from a similarly clinical move against Barcelona last season after floating behind the defensive line throughout most of the build-up to the goal.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inspiration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inspiration
Noun
-
Wilfried cited patriotism as his only motivation for voting.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Another big motivation for living together?—
Jennifer Ludden,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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So, this is a story about imparting true wealth, including the intrinsic values and skills—motivation, hard work, creativity, risk-taking—that built the fortunes in the first place and that allow those who inherit to bloom.—
Christina Binkley,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2025
-
His strong point is his creativity, with the vision to thread passes and an eye for goal.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Tailored for hyperscale data centers, cloud providers, and telcos, Xeon 6+ features up to 288 E-cores and a 17% uplift in Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) over the prior generation.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
-
While their Afrocentric paeans to the motherland signal a commitment to Black uplift, their loosey-goosey grooves—plundered from records by Mandrill, Manu Dibango, and Kool & the Gang, and frequently scratched straight from turntables to tape—drink from a deep well of pure pleasure.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
His words of encouragement before every game.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Matt Deaner, Screen Producers Australia CEO, sees key encouragement coming from national broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.—
Paul Chai,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The cruellest occupation is not of land but of the imagination.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
-
The visual shifts mirror thematic contrasts between past and present, imagination and reality.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Over the past few years, Teasdale has grown to embrace the slow mornings and simple comforts that come with being a homebody, and Moisturizer, Wet Leg’s bright, celestial second album, captures small-hours moments, sofa snogs and falling into the buoyant daze of doing nothing all day.—
Sophie Williams,
Billboard,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Examining the question of how young people living in comparative comfort and who rarely experience threats or physical suffering can eventually kill, Bushman stressed that most research questions whether there’s any real link between such actions and experiencing violent movies, TV, or video games.—
John Scott Lewinski,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet the attack would provide the impetus for the peace pact.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
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How a concert led to the documentary The impetus for the documentary came from an October 2021 concert at the Indiana History Center that raised money for an Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council initiative to educate people about the Holocaust and combat hatred, bigotry and antisemitism.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
IndyStar,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But at the bare minimum, seeing how well a fully healthy Matthews moved should be cause for relief at the start of a new season.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
In my survey, many parents described a surprising sense of relief when their children didn’t get into their top choice.—
Jeffrey Selingo,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inspiration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inspiration. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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