1
Core quality
Marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
Example
An inspired design allowed the bridge to use fewer materials.
inspired
/ɪnˈspaɪəd/ · in-SPY-urdadjective
Marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
Use inspired to express this relationship precisely: marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
What inspired Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Her inspired performance transformed the familiar role.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The solution was simple but inspired.
Use inspired Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
An inspired design allowed the bridge to use fewer materials.
Her inspired performance transformed the familiar role.
The solution was simple but inspired.
Precision Matters
Inspired overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
inspired
vs.Means marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
inventive
Means creative, resourceful, and skilled at producing original ideas or solutions.
inspired
vs.Means marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
ingenious
Means very clever, inventive, or resourceful.
inspired
vs.Means marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
novel
Means new, original, or strikingly different from what has been known or used before.
inspired
vs.Means marked by exceptional creativity, insight, or motivation.
desultory
Means lacking a clear plan, consistency, purpose, or sustained attention.
Test inspired in Context
The choice displays unusual creativity and insight.
1
Using discarded shells as a filtration material was an ___ choice that solved two problems at once.