noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state of being without life or spirit. uncommon, uncountable, usually
2. 2
   (linguistics) The characteristic of a noun, in some languages, that is dependent on its unliving or non-sentient nature; this characteristic affects grammatical features (it can modify verbs used with the noun, affect the noun's declension etc.). wordnet
3. 3
   In some languages, the classification of entities as nonsentient or nonliving, influencing various aspects of structure and use. uncountable, usually

Antonyms

All antonyms

animacy

Etymology

From inanimate + -cy.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.