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Inspiration

n. hopeful, resilient warm

What it means

Meaning 1

A person, feeling, or idea that awakens creative effort, courage, or purpose.

Reach for it when naming the source of a positive impulse to make or act

Her grandmother's patient courage remained an inspiration throughout the long campaign.

Meaning 2

A welcome idea that arrives with unusual clarity or freshness.

Reach for it when describing the idea behind a creative or practical solution

The roof's folding pattern came from a moment of inspiration on the train.

Words to choose between 8

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom, and by meaning across. Tap a word to see when it fits.
Meaning 1Meaning 2
playful
everyday
  • Inspiration (this word)
  • idea
warm
professional
literary

Meaning 1: A person, feeling, or idea that awakens creative effort, courage, or purpose.

  • everyday

    role model

    Fits when a person's example offers behavior worth following

    Careful A role model is a person, while inspiration can be an event, work, or idea.

  • warm

    encouragement

    Fits when support from another person increases confidence

    Careful Encouragement helps someone continue but may not awaken a new purpose.

  • professional

    motivation

    Fits when the force that sustains action is the focus

    Careful Motivation may come from duty or reward without inspiration.

  • professional

    stimulus

    Fits when a specific input prompts thought or activity

    Careful Stimulus is neutral and clinical beside the emotional lift of inspiration.

  • literary

    muse

    Fits when a person or presence stimulates artistic creation

    Careful Muse risks objectifying a person and cannot cover civic courage.

Meaning 2: A welcome idea that arrives with unusual clarity or freshness.

  • playful

    brainwave

    Fits when a sudden clever solution suits an informal tone

    Careful Brainwave sounds light and British for solemn or artistic inspiration.

  • everyday

    idea

    Fits when the practical content matters more than how it arrived

    Careful Idea loses the sense of energizing discovery.

  • literary

    revelation

    Fits when the idea feels newly disclosed and transformative

    Careful Revelation overstates a useful but ordinary creative thought.

Opposites 3

  • discouragement
  • deterrent
  • stagnation

Common phrases 3

  • source of inspiration

    The restored wetland became a source of inspiration for local painters.

  • flash of inspiration

    A flash of inspiration solved the awkward hinge problem.

  • draw inspiration

    Young architects draw inspiration from the market's shaded passages.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Neskaya, Southern California accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated