Inspiration

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.

• everyday

  role model

  a person's example offers behavior worth following

  not when A role model is a person, while inspiration can be an event, work, or idea.

• warm

  encouragement

  support from another person increases confidence

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

• professional

  motivation

  the force that sustains action is the focus

  not when Motivation may come from duty or reward without inspiration.

• professional

  stimulus

  a specific input prompts thought or activity

  not when Stimulus is neutral and clinical beside the emotional lift of inspiration.

• literary

  muse

  a person or presence stimulates artistic creation

  not when Muse risks objectifying a person and cannot cover civic courage.

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.

• playful

  brainwave

  a sudden clever solution suits an informal tone

  not when Brainwave sounds light and British for solemn or artistic inspiration.

• everyday

  idea

  the practical content matters more than how it arrived

  not when Idea loses the sense of energizing discovery.

• literary

  revelation

  the idea feels newly disclosed and transformative

  not when Revelation overstates a useful but ordinary creative thought.

• discouragement
• deterrent
• stagnation

• 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.