INSPIRATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does inspiration mean? 

• INSPIRATION (noun)
  The noun INSPIRATION has 6 senses:

1. arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity

2. a product of your creative thinking and work

3. a sudden intuition as part of solving a problem

4. (theology) a special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings

5. arousing to a particular emotion or action

6. the act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing

  Familiarity information: INSPIRATION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSPIRATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

idea; thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inspiration"):

germ; seed; source (anything that provides inspiration for later work)

mother (a condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation)

afflatus (a strong creative impulse; divine inspiration)

Derivation:

inspire (supply the inspiration for)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A product of your creative thinking and work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

brainchild; inspiration

Context example:

after years of work his brainchild was a tangible reality

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A sudden intuition as part of solving a problem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

intuition (instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes))

Holonyms ("inspiration" is a part of...):

problem solving (the thought processes involved in solving a problem)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(theology) a special influence of a divinity on the minds of human beings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

divine guidance; inspiration

Context example:

they believe that the books of Scripture were written under divine guidance

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

cognitive factor (something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result)

Domain category:

divinity; theology (the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth)

Derivation:

inspirational (imparting a divine influence on the mind and soul)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Arousing to a particular emotion or action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

inspiration; stirring

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

arousal; rousing (the act of arousing)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The act of inhaling; the drawing in of air (or other gases) as in breathing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

aspiration; breathing in; inhalation; inspiration; intake

Hypernyms ("inspiration" is a kind of...):

breath (the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inspiration"):

gasp; pant (a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open)

drag; puff; pull (a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke))

Holonyms ("inspiration" is a part of...):

breathing; external respiration; respiration; ventilation (the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation)

Derivation:

inspire (draw in (air))

 Context examples 

Such a life is an inspiration to all of us.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

In the moment when Madam Mina said those words that arrest both our understanding, an inspiration came to me.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Another good place to meet someone would be at a retreat where people go to meditate or find spiritual or religious inspiration.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

At this I had a happy inspiration.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A device by means of which a medicinal product can be administered by inspiration through the nose or the mouth.

(Inhaler, NCI Thesaurus)

Amy was learning this distinction through much tribulation, for mistaking enthusiasm for inspiration, she attempted every branch of art with youthful audacity.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The very next day however produced some proof of inspiration.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It was at that moment that I had my inspiration.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I understood, as by inspiration, the nature of his love for Miss Oliver; I agreed with him that it was but a love of the senses.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Seeing this as a natural structure in bamboo fibres is inspiration for the development of better building products.”

(Visualising heat flow in bamboo could help design more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings, University of Cambridge)