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inanimate. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
inanimate, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
inanimate in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
inanimate you have here. The definition of the word
inanimate will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
inanimate, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English inanimate, from Late Latin inanimātus, from Latin in- + animātus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪnˈænɪmət/
- Hyphenation: in‧an‧i‧mate
Adjective
inanimate (comparative more inanimate, superlative most inanimate)
- Lacking the quality or ability of motion; as an inanimate object.
- Synonyms: immobile, motionless; see also Thesaurus:immobile, Thesaurus:stationary
1834, L E L, chapter XV, in Francesca Carrara. , volume II, London: Richard Bentley, , (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 172:The love of the inanimate is a general feeling. True, it makes no return of affection, neither does it disappoint it; its associations are from our thoughts and emotions.
- Not being, and never having been alive, especially not like humans and animals.
- Synonyms: non-animate, lifeless, insentient, insensate
1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 5, in Frankenstein, archived from the original on 31 October 2011:I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.
- (grammar) Not animate.
- Antonym: animate
Translations
Translations to be checked
Noun
inanimate (plural inanimates)
- (rare) Something that is not alive.
Etymology 2
From Latin inanimō; equivalent to in- (intensive) + animate.
Pronunciation
Verb
inanimate (third-person singular simple present inanimates, present participle inanimating, simple past and past participle inanimated)
- (obsolete) To animate.
1621, John Donne, An Anatomy of the World: The First Anniversary:For there's a kind of world remaining still, Though shee which did inanimate and fill
Anagrams
Italian
Adjective
inanimate f pl
- feminine plural of inanimato
Anagrams
Latin
Adjective
inanimāte
- vocative masculine singular of inanimātus