inspire meaning
inspire :
to motivate, to encourage
verb
▪ Her teacher inspires her to study harder.
▪ Her teacher encourages her to study harder.
▪ Leaders inspire their team to achieve goals.
▪ Leaders motivate their team to achieve goals.
paraphrasing
▪ motivate – to encourage
▪ encourage – to give support
▪ stimulate – to spark
▪ uplift – to raise spirits
Pronunciation
inspire [ɪnˈspaɪər]
The word is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, sounding like "in-spy-er".
Common phrases and grammar about inspire
inspire - Common meaning
verb
to motivate, to encourage
Part of Speech Changes for "inspire"
▪ inspiration (noun) – the process of being mentally stimulated to do something creative
▪ inspiring (adjective) – having the effect of inspiring someone
Common Expressions with "inspire"
▪ inspire creativity – to encourage creative thinking
▪ inspire confidence – to make someone feel confident
▪ inspire someone to act – to motivate someone to take action
▪ inspire change – to encourage change
Important examples of inspire in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, inspire is often used to describe motivating or encouraging someone to take action.
Example of a confusing word: aspire (to aim or hope)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC grammar questions, inspire is used as a transitive verb, requiring an object.
inspire
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
inspire confidence
'encourage trust', used when building trust in business settings.
inspire someone to take action
means 'motivate someone to act', used when prompting action in emails or meetings.
Differences between similar words and inspire
inspire
,
motivate
differences
Inspire is used to encourage creativity or positive action, while motivate often refers to providing reasons for specific actions.
inspire
,
encourage
differences
Inspire is used to fill someone with creative or positive energy, while encourage is to give support or confidence.
Words with the same origin as inspire
The origin of inspire
The word 'inspire' comes from the Latin 'inspirare', which means 'to breathe into'.
Word structure
It has the prefix in (into), root spir (breathe), and suffix e (verb), so inspire means 'to breathe into'.
Words with the same origin
The root of inspire is spir (breathe). Words with the same root include inspire (to fill with ideas), respire (to breathe again), inspire (to breathe in), transpire (to happen).
