inanimate

Everyday

1. Not alive, like a rock, a chair or a toy. tree →
2. Not moving and showing no sign of life. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on living things pupils sort objects into living and non-living (inanimate). In grammar, inanimate nouns name things, not people or animals. In stories, toys that come to life were inanimate before. Phrase: inanimate object.

Examples

• A rock is an inanimate object. tree →
• We sorted pictures into living and inanimate things. tree →
• In the story, the inanimate puppet started to dance. tree →
• Don't blame the chair — it's an inanimate object! tree →
• He lay inanimate on the sofa after the race. tree →
• Fire moves and grows but it is inanimate. tree →
• So in all the fables that are or are not Æsop's all the animal forces drive like inanimate forces, like great rivers or growing trees. tree →

Note

Opposite: animate (alive), living. Trap: fire, wind and robots move, but they are not alive — moving is not the same as living. Formal; everyday words: non-living, lifeless.