# inspire

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #7,142

## Definitions
1. To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration.
2. To infuse into; to affect, as with a superior or supernatural influence; to fill with what animates, enlivens or exalts; to communicate inspiration to.
3. To draw in by the operation of breathing; to inhale.
4. To infuse by breathing, or as if by breathing.
5. To breathe into; to fill with the breath; to animate.
6. To spread rumour indirectly.

## Etymology
From Middle English inspiren, enspiren, from Old French inspirer, variant of espirer, from Latin īnspīrāre (“inspire”), itself a loan-translation of Biblical Ancient Greek πνέω (pnéō, “breathe”), from in + spīrō (“breathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Displaced native Old English onbryrdan (literally “to prick in”).

## Easily confused with
- **insure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inspire-vs-insure)
- **inspired** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inspire-vs-inspired)
- **inside** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inside-vs-inspire)
- **inquire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inquire-vs-inspire)
- **inshore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inshore-vs-inspire)

## Common misspellings (10)
`innspire`, `inpsire`, `insipre`, `inspier`, `inspirre`, `insppire`, `insprie`, `insspire`, `isnpire`, `nispire`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/inspire