inanimate object

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A non-living thing, such as a stone, a spoon or a wall, that cannot grow, breathe or move by itself.

   Grammar: Usually used with an or the, or in the plural: an inanimate object, inanimate objects.

   Patterns

   • an inanimate object like something

   The toddler talked to every inanimate object in the room, from the lamp to the rug.

   Scientists asked whether a robot is just an inanimate object or something more.

   He kicked the door in frustration, angry at an inanimate object for being locked.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   In grammar and storytelling, a thing treated as lacking life, often contrasted with a person or animal that can act on its own.

   Grammar: Often appears in discussions of grammar or writing: an inanimate object can be the subject of a sentence.

   Patterns

   • treat something as an inanimate object

   In the story, the narrator describes the house as more than an inanimate object.

   The teacher explained that an inanimate object cannot perform an action on purpose.

Word forms

Common combinations

lifeless inanimate object

The statue looked like a lifeless inanimate object until the light moved across its face.

treat someone like an inanimate object

Patients hate being treated like an inanimate object by busy staff.

talk to an inanimate object

I caught myself talking to an inanimate object when the printer jammed again.

personify an inanimate object

Poets often personify an inanimate object, giving the moon a face and a voice.

throw an inanimate object

The player was fined for throwing an inanimate object onto the pitch.

Synonyms and how they differ

thing

Thing is far more general and does not stress that something lacks life, so it fits casual speech where inanimate object sounds scientific.

article

Article suggests a single item in a list or collection, such as an article of clothing, and says nothing about being non-living.

lifeless object

Lifeless object puts the emphasis on the absence of life, and it can also describe something that once lived, which inanimate object usually does not.

Opposites

Word family

inanimate adjective

not alive and not able to move on its own

animate adjective

alive and able to move

animate verb

to give life or movement to something, as in a cartoon

animation noun

lively energy, or a film made from moving drawings

Commonly confused: inanimate object or animate object?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “inanimate object”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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