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inane. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
inane, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
inane in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
inane you have here. The definition of the word
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inane, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle French inane, from Latin inānis (“empty, vain, useless”) which is of unknown origin.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inane (comparative inaner or more inane, superlative inanest or most inane)
- Lacking sense or meaning, often to the point of boredom or annoyance.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIX, in Francesca Carrara. , volume III, London: Richard Bentley, , (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 237:Francesca followed, reluctant enough in her secret; for though she would not have admitted it even to herself, she did shrink from the infliction of the inane solemnities with which her father garnished his discourse—to say nothing of the ungracious reflections which so often glanced at herself.
2020, Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, Dialogue Books, page 156:God, if she had to listen to another conversation about some kid she didnʼt know—how Tina J. stole the stage at the talent show or Bobby R. won the tee ball game or any other number of inane accomplishments.
- (lacking sense): Synonyms: silly, fatuous, vapid
This supremely gifted kid told me that in the early elementary grades, the songs sung in music class were so inane that he wanted to skip grades already! Eventually he did, so better late than never.
- Purposeless; pointless.
1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. , London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC:Vague and inane instincts.
Derived terms
Translations
lacking sense or meaning
- Azerbaijani: mənasız (az), məzmunsuz, boş (az)
- Bulgarian: глупав (bg) (glupav), безсмислен (bg) (bezsmislen)
- Catalan: va (ca), vacu
- Czech: hloupý (cs), stupidní (cs)
- Danish: intetsigende (da), åndsforladt
- Dutch: zinloos (nl), inhoudsloos (nl), stom (nl), flauw (nl)
- Finnish: tyhjä (fi), merkityksetön (fi), typerä (fi)
- French: inepte (fr), insensé (fr), niais (fr), inane (fr)
- German: sinnlos (de), albern (de), bedeutungslos (de), sinnfrei (de), inhaltsleer, hohl (de), belanglos (de)
- Maori: heahea
- Norwegian: intetsigende
- Polish: bezmyślny (pl), głupi (pl), beztreściowy, beztreściwy
- Portuguese: inane, vão (pt), vazio (pt), fútil (pt)
- Romanian: fără sens, stupid (ro) m, inept (ro) m
- Russian: глу́пый (ru) (glúpyj), пусто́й (ru) (pustój), бессмы́сленный (ru) (bessmýslennyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: faoin
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: бесмислен
- Roman: besmislen (sh)
- Spanish: sin sentido, absurdo (es), inane (es)
- Swedish: intetsägande (sv), andefattig (sv)
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Noun
inane (plural inanes)
- That which is void or empty.
Anagrams
Italian
Etymology
From Latin inānis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iˈna.ne/
- Rhymes: -ane
- Hyphenation: i‧nà‧ne
Adjective
inane (plural inani) (literary)
- (rare) empty, void, hollow
- Synonyms: (literary) vacuo, vuoto
- Antonyms: colmo, pieno
- useless, vain, inane
- Synonyms: inconcludente, infruttuoso, inutile, (literary) irrito, vano
- Antonym: utile
Derived terms
Further reading
- inane in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Anagrams
Latin
Pronunciation
Adjective
ināne
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of inānis
Noun
ināne n (genitive inānis); third declension
- empty space, void, open space
- emptiness, vanity, inanity
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).
References
- “inane”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “inane”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- inane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) rich in ideas: sententiis abundans or creber (opp. sententiis inanis)
- (ambiguous) mere words; empty sound: inanis verborum sonitus
- (ambiguous) senseless rant: inanium verborum flumen
- (ambiguous) to be misled by a vain hope: inani, falsa spe duci, induci
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin inānis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inane m or f (plural inanes)
- inane (lacking sense or meaning)
- Synonyms: vão, vazio, fútil
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin inānis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iˈnane/
- Rhymes: -ane
- Syllabification: i‧na‧ne
Adjective
inane m or f (masculine and feminine plural inanes)
- inane; pointless
Related terms
Further reading