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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inanimate
That adds individuality to sections of inanimate space.
—
Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
That’s why horror movies often have these inanimate emblems that are so terrifying.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Wait until these powers are in the hands of an inanimate AI programmed to disfavor or even target conservatives through the vast powers of the federal government.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
That’s why horror movies often have these inanimate emblems that are so terrifying.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inanimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimate
Adjective
-
One of the individuals rescued was a 10-year-old boy, who was unconscious and admitted to a nearby hospital with several injuries, per VNExpress.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
19 July 2025
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The child, who was unconscious, received life-saving measures at the scene and was taken to Griffin Hospital before being transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital, according to DEEP.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
-
Tabo turns, in his mother’s eyes, into a cold and unfeeling stone.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Heading into the last round, Dacres is tired, but Sirenko is lifeless and seemingly just going through the motions.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
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Not long after, Blanca, the daughters, and Abel—Nicolás’ piano student and secret lover—found his lifeless body in the farm’s lake.—
Time,
Time,
18 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inanimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimate. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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