ispirare

Ispirare is an Italian transitive verb meaning to fill someone with a feeling or idea, or to motivate, stimulate, or guide action. It can refer to a person, work of art, event, or circumstance that provokes creativity, courage, hope, or confidence. Common constructions include ispire qualcuno a fare qualcosa (to inspire someone to do something) and ispirare fiducia in qualcuno or in una situazione (to inspire confidence in someone or in a situation). The related noun is ispirazione (inspiration).

Etymology and usage context: the word comes from Latin inspirare, literally “to breathe into,” formed from in- (into) and spirare (to breathe). The sense has shifted from a physical breath to a metaphorical influence that animates thoughts, feelings, or actions. In everyday Italian, ispirare is widely used across culture, arts, leadership, and communication to attribute influence or motivation.

Conjugation and forms: ispirare is a regular -are verb. Present indicative forms: io inspiro, tu inspiri, lui/lei ispira, noi ispiramo, voi ispirate, loro ispirano. Passato prossimo uses avere: ho ispirato, hai ispirato, ha ispirato, abbiamo ispirato, avete ispirato, hanno ispirato. Imperfetto: ispiravo, ispiravi, ispirava, ispiravamo, ispiravate, ispiravano. Futuro: ispirerò, ispirerai, ispirerà, ispireremo, ispirerete, ispireranno. Present subjunctive: che io ispiri, che tu ispiri, che lui ispiri, che noi ispiriamo, che voi ispirate, che loro ispirino. Imperative: ispira! (tu), ispiriamo! (noi), ispirate! (voi).

Beyond meaning, ispirare also yields related terms such as ispirazione (inspiration) and ispirato (inspired). Its usage can be literal or figurative, depending on context.

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