inanimate
Other forms: inanimately
Inanimate describes a non-living thing. Chairs, baseballs, sofa cushions and sadly, snowmen, are all inanimate objects.
We can break inanimate down into two Latin roots: in, which means “not,” and animatus, which translates to “alive.” So inanimate means simply, "not alive." That include things that are recently dead, things that were never alive to begin with, and things that simply look dead: A bear in hibernation may appear inanimate due to its decreased heart rate, but don’t be fooled — it’s very much alive.
Definitions of inanimate
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not endowed with life“the inorganic world is inanimate”“inanimate objects”synonyms: non-living, nonlivingnonconsciousrelating to the lack of consciousness of inanimate thingsantonyms:animateendowed with animal life as distinguished from plant life
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appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible pulse“an inanimate body”synonyms: breathless, pulselessdeadno longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
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belonging to the class of nouns denoting nonliving things“the word `car' is inanimate”antonyms:animatebelonging to the class of nouns that denote living beings
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing inanimate
Speak Your Mind: Anim
Learn these words derived from the Latin root anim, which has many meanings, including "breath," "mind," "spirit," and "courage."