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# inspire

«inspire» in Mova's school dictionary: **to give them the wish and the energy to do something good…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (inspire, inspires, inspired, inspiring)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To inspire someone means to give them the wish and the energy to do something good or creative. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#m1)

2) To inspire a feeling means to make people feel it: «inspire confidence», «inspire fear». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#m2)

3) If something inspired a story, picture or invention, it gave the idea for it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#m3)

4) (science, rare) To inspire means to breathe in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In school it is used for role models, books and trips: «Her talk inspired us to recycle». In art and writing lessons pupils say what inspired their work. In stories heroes inspire others. Related: inspiration, inspiring, inspired. Phrases: «inspire someone to do something», «inspired by».

### examples

- The astronaut's visit inspired me to study science. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x1)
- Her bravery inspires us all. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x2)
- The story was inspired by a real shipwreck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x3)
- Good teachers inspire their pupils. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x4)
- The music inspired her to dance. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x5)
- The captain's calm voice inspired confidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x6)
- What inspired you to write this poem? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/#x7)

### note

Regular verb: inspired. Noun: inspiration; adjectives: inspiring (gives inspiration), inspired (very clever or creative: «an inspired idea»). Pattern: «inspire someone to do something». Opposite of the breathing sense: expire (breathe out), though «expire» usually means to end.

### In the corpora

- [Being inspired means using an idea or style in something new; copying means taking the actual picture.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/35-copying-vs-being-inspired-tracing-covers-giving-credit/15/)
- [A black bear at London Zoo called Winnipeg inspired the name of Winnie-the-Pooh.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/116-famous-zoos-in-the-usa-and-the-uk/8/)
- [There is a real Chinese martial art called Praying Mantis style, said to have been inspired by watching a mantis fight.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/137-kung-fu-panda-real-mantises-snakes-and-monkeys/5/)
- [Some people think the golden takin's shining coat inspired the Greek legend of the Golden Fleece.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/378-china-s-mountains-golden-snub-nosed-monkeys-takins-red-crowned-cranes-and-giant-salamanders/12/)
- [The Bible's story of the Tower of Babel was probably inspired by a real ziggurat in Babylon.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «inspire» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inspire/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.