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inanimate

adjective

(ˌ)i-ˈna-nə-mət How to pronounce inanimate (audio)
Definition of inanimatenext
as in unconscious
lacking animate awareness or sensation "pathetic fallacy" is the literary term for the ascription of human feelings or motives to inanimate natural elements

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inanimate The brightly colored, inanimate pieces are adaptable across all class and ethnicity barriers, just like pop music. — Armond White, National Review, 11 Oct. 2024 There were no strict boundaries between space and time, the forces of nature or the animate and inanimate worlds. — James L. Fitzsimmons, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024 Evident before us and present in all matter—animate and inanimate—is the atom. — Pravir Malik, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 If pressed, some argue the indignation over the defacement itself betrays how little our culture values the planet when compared to inanimate works of canvas and pigment. — Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimate
  1. unconscious
  2. insensate
  3. unfeeling
  4. insentient
  5. lifeless
Adjective
  • The victim was unconscious and had bruises on his face and body when the couple dropped him at Downstate Medical Center in East Flatbush Saturday.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2025
  • According to local newspaper The Korea Times, Wheesung was discovered unconscious in his apartment in Seoul’s northern Gwangjin-gu district at 6:29 p.m.
    — Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of unconscious
Adjective
  • The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.
    — Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
  • But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.
    — Lauren Gill, ProPublica, 29 Apr. 2023
Definition of insensate
Adjective
  • So much modern football is mechanical and unfeeling; Joao Felix is loose and breezy.
    — Jack Lang, The Athletic, 9 Feb. 2025
  • Human failings amidst an unfeeling snowpocalypse make for some engaging scenes.
    — Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of unfeeling
Adjective
  • This is partly because the loss of insentient machinery, no matter how expensive, is easier to stomach than the death of an aircrew.
    — Lauren Kahn, Foreign Affairs, 6 June 2023
  • But its shortcomings are essentially those of the novel: its single-track didacticism; its neat pitting of romantic idealists against macho, insentient normies; and the fact that a decisive plot twist can be spotted a mile off.
    — Houman Barekat, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Definition of insentient
Adjective
  • The new was confirmed by Dr. Archer, then Pascal took Monica’s hand and broke down next to her lifeless body.
    — Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Parcell's lifeless body was found inside her home with over 30 stab wounds, including to her jugular and carotid arteries, according to prosecutors.
    — Julia Bonavita, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025
Definition of lifeless

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Cite this Entry

“Inanimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimate. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.

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