inspirierten

Inspirierten is a German term that can function as two different grammatical forms of the verb inspiration-related word inspirieren, or as an inflected form of the past participle used as an adjective. It is not a standalone concept, but rather a grammatical form that appears in different contexts.

As a verb form, inspirierten is the Präteritum (simple past) for plural subjects. Specifically, it occurs in the 1st person plural (wir inspirierten) and the 3rd person plural (sie/Sie inspirierten). It denotes a completed act of providing inspiration in narratives or reports. For example: Die Redner inspirierten das Publikum. This use mirrors the English “inspired” in past-tense constructions.

As an adjective, inspirierten can be the attributive past participle in plural when used with a definite article. In this role it describes a plural noun as “inspired” or “inspirited.” The correct form with a definite article is die inspirierten Künstler, meaning “the inspired artists.” An accompanying sentence could be: Die inspirierten Musiker präsentierten ihre Werke. Here, inspirierten functions as an adjective agreeing in gender, number, and case with the noun.

Etymology and meaning: inspirieren derives from the Latin inspirare (“to breathe into”) and is widely used in German to mean to motivate, stimulate, or fill with creative energy. The form inspirierten thus inherits both the verb’s past tense usage and the participial adjective usage.

Usage notes: inspirierten should not be confused with the present participle form inspiriert, which also serves as an adjective but has different inflection patterns (e.g., ein inspiriertes Gemälde, die inspirierten Werke). See also inspirieren and Inspiration.