# inspiration

Pronunciation: say "in-spuh-RAY-shuhn" US /ˌɪn.spɚˈeɪ.ʃən/, AUS /ˌɪn.spəˈɹæɪ.ʃən/; UK say "in-spi-RAY-shuhn" /ˌɪn.spɪˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. An elevating or stimulating influence that acts upon the intellect, emotions, or creativity.
   - Simple: A feeling of energy and new ideas that pushes you to create or do something.
   - _She found inspiration in the quiet of the early morning hours._
   - _The composer drew inspiration from the rhythms of the city._
2. A person, object, or situation that stirs or stimulates the intellect, emotions, or creativity.
   - Simple: A person or thing that fills you with energy and new ideas.
   - _The young athlete became an inspiration to children across the country._
   - _A crumbling old house served as the inspiration for her first novel._
3. A new idea, especially a clever or creative one that arrives suddenly.
   - Simple: A clever new idea that comes to you all at once.
   - _The recipe was a moment of pure inspiration, born from leftovers in the fridge._
   - _Halfway through the meeting, she had an inspiration that changed the whole plan._
4. A supernatural divine influence on prophets, apostles, or sacred writers that qualified them to communicate religious truth with authority; also, the truth so communicated.
   - Simple: A holy power from God that helped prophets and writers share religious truth.
   - _Theologians debate whether every word of scripture carries divine inspiration._
   - _The apostle claimed his teachings flowed from inspiration rather than from human reasoning._
5. A single intake of air drawn into the lungs.
   - Simple: One breath of air taken into the body.
   - _The nurse counted each inspiration to measure his breathing rate._
   - _A deep inspiration filled her lungs before she dove underwater._
6. The drawing of air into the lungs, achieved in mammals by raising the chest walls and flattening the diaphragm, as part of breathing.
   - Simple: The act of pulling air into the lungs as part of breathing.
   - _Inspiration occurs when the diaphragm contracts and the chest cavity widens._
   - _The volume of air moved during quiet inspiration is fairly small._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English inspiracioun and Old French inspiration from Late Latin īnspīrātiō, based on the Latin verb inspīrō. By surface analysis it is inspire plus -ation, and it replaced the native Old English onbryrdnes.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/inspiration (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).