Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The condition or quality of being inane.
- noun Something empty of meaning or sense.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state of being inane.
- noun Mental vacuity; senselessness; silliness; frivolity.
- noun Hollowness; worthlessness.
- noun An instance of frivolity or vanity: as, the inanities of his conversation.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Inanition; void space; vacuity; emptiness.
- noun Lack of seriousness; aimlessness; frivolity.
- noun An inane, useless thing or pursuit; a vanity; a silly object; -- chiefly in pl..
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun uncountable The property of being
inane , oflacking material ofinterest orsatisfaction ,emptiness . - noun Something that is
inane .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun total lack of meaning or ideas
Etymologies
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Examples
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A stern, deep voice which utters an egotistical inanity is still stern and deep (deep sounding, anyway).
The Volokh Conspiracy » Remembering Justice Stevens as a Boss 2010
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But what makes these letters rise above inanity is the portrait they provide of a wartime capital cut adrift from moral bearings.
Sunday Reading 2007
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What you call inanity is yet another demonstration of a subject you have no clue about.
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If putting up with your inanity is one of the conditions of eternal life, I think I’ll take my chances with mortality.
Think Progress » Brownback Holds Up Drawing Of Embryo, Asks ‘Are You Going To Kill Me?’ 2006
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The House voted 55-42 along party lines to strip Daniel G. LeBlanc from a measure confirming Mr. Kaine's 34 agency head appointments and his chief of staff. linkOf course, Governor Kaine reacts with what can only be described as inanity:
From On High 2006
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The House voted 55-42 along party lines to strip Daniel G. LeBlanc from a measure confirming Mr. Kaine's 34 agency head appointments and his chief of staff. linkOf course, Governor Kaine reacts with what can only be described as inanity:
Archive 2006-03-01 2006
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Then he recalled the inanity and exacting requests of the great lady, and guessed how her reader was able to so boldly play his annoying trick.
The False Chevalier or, The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette William Douw Lighthall
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And I'd even go so far as to say that nothing was more political than this sovereign and slightly unreasonable decision, qualified by some we shall be kind enough not to mention here as an "inanity" or a "crime" or a bet that was "lost in advance", to craft something European through the shared efforts of two national workshops.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Arte Is Twenty Bernard-Henri Lévy 2010
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And I'd even go so far as to say that nothing was more political than this sovereign and slightly unreasonable decision, qualified by some we shall be kind enough not to mention here as an "inanity" or a "crime" or a bet that was "lost in advance", to craft something European through the shared efforts of two national workshops.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Arte Is Twenty Bernard-Henri Lévy 2010
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And I'd even go so far as to say that nothing was more political than this sovereign and slightly unreasonable decision, qualified by some we shall be kind enough not to mention here as an "inanity" or a "crime" or a bet that was "lost in advance", to craft something European through the shared efforts of two national workshops.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Arte Is Twenty Bernard-Henri Lévy 2010
chained_bear commented on the word inanity
“The United States should approve the annexation of Hawaii. I believe I voice the sentiments of 75 per cent of the people of Ohio.�?
—Governor Asa Bushnell (Ohio)
(Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1898)
April 28, 2008
bilby commented on the word inanity
ROFLWISIS
(Rolling On Floor Laughing With Innnards Spilling Indecorously Sideways).
April 28, 2008
reesetee commented on the word inanity
*facepalm*
April 28, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word inanity
It's much like saying, "The United States should invade Canada. I believe I voice the sentiments of 75 per cent of the people of upper Mongolia."
April 28, 2008