Subanimate
adj
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Below the level of life or animacy; less than alive. not-comparable
"There were far-off, indistinct echoes of life, and subanimate mutterings, the slow respirations of the rocks, drinking air and oozing moisture through their sluggish pores, swelling and pushing against their straitening bonds of timber."
Example
More examples"There were far-off, indistinct echoes of life, and subanimate mutterings, the slow respirations of the rocks, drinking air and oozing moisture through their sluggish pores, swelling and pushing against their straitening bonds of timber."
Etymology
From sub- + animate.
More for "subanimate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.