Inspiring

How to spell inspiring

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce inspiring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inspiring mean?

1. adjectiveFilling someone with the urge or confidence to do or feel something positive.

Inspiring in a sentence

• The coach gave an inspiring talk before the final match.

• Her recovery from illness was an inspiring example to the whole ward.

Where does inspiring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb inspirare, which literally meant 'to breathe into' or 'to blow upon', formed from in- 'into' and spirare 'to breathe'. In late Latin and early Christian usage the breathing-into took on a spiritual sense, describing how a divine force was thought to fill a person with insight or feeling. English adopted the verb 'inspire' through Old French in the 1300s, keeping that idea of being filled or animated, and the present-participle adjective 'inspiring' developed naturally to describe anything that stirs such feeling. The same spirare root breathes through a whole family of English words, including 'spirit', 'respire', 'aspire' and 'perspire', which is a useful clue that the middle of the word is spelled with that 'spir'. Because the second syllable is unstressed, writers sometimes hesitate over the vowel, but remembering 'spirit' keeps the 'i' in place.

How the word is built

• in- (in, into)
• spir (from spirare: to breathe)
• -ing (adjective/participle suffix)