A verb with 3 meanings:
1. to make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it:
After her trip to Venezuela, she felt inspired to learn Spanish.
2. to make someone have a particular strong feeling or reaction:
She inspires great loyalty among her followers.
3. to give someone an idea for a book, film, product, etc:
a piece of music inspired by dolphin sounds
An adjective meaning: happening or done in a natural, often sudden way, without any planning or without being forced (e.g., his jokes seemed spontaneous, but were in fact carefully prepared beforehand; she's such a spontaneous, lively woman). Often used in a positive way.
The adverb is spontaneously (e.g., the liquid spontaneously caught on fire) and the noun (uncountable) is spontaneity (e.g., that book has a very nice spontaneity and sparkle).
A noun (either countable or uncountable) meaning: the way people or animals naturally react or behave, without having to think or learn about it.
Examples:
All his instincts told him to stay near the car and wait for help.
[+ to infinitive] Her first instinct was to run.
It is instinct that tells the birds when to begin their migration.
Bob seems to have an instinct for (= is naturally good at) knowing which products will sell.
An adjective: If an action or event is predestined, it is controlled by God or by fate and no one can do anything to change the result (e.g., it seems the expedition is predestined to fail because there have been so many problems).
An adjective meaning: never stopping, especially in an annoying or unpleasant way (e.g., incessant rain/noise/complaints).
The adverb incessantly would then mean unendingly (i.e., continuing to do something forever).
A verb meaning: to try very hard to do something or to make something happen, especially for a long time or against difficulties: (e.g., Mr Roe has created expectations that he must now strive to reach; in her writing she strove for a balance between innovation and familiar prose forms).
The past tense is either strove or strived, and the past participle is either striven or strived.
A noun (uncountable) meaning: the basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way (e.g., windsurfing is perfectly safe as long as you have/use some common sense).
An adjective meaning: more important or better than others (e.g., she is the pre-eminent authority in her subject).
The adverb pre-eminently then means: mainly, or to a very great degree (e.g., the arts festival is pre-eminently a festival of theatre).
An adjective meaning: producing or using original and unusual ideas (e.g., a creative person/artist/designer/programmer; creative talents/powers/abilities; creative thinking).
The noun (uncountable) that is formed from the adjective is either creativity or creativeness.
See the entry in English or CzEnglish.
Especially remember:
how something looks
what something looks like
she looks + adjective (e.g., clever)
he looks like + noun (e.g., a wolf)
they look as if + verb phrase (e.g., they were going to do something)
Compare the entry for Such to the entry for So in English or CzEnglish. Notice countable and uncountable nouns.
To think outside the box means: to think creatively or imaginatively, using new ideas instead of traditional or expected ideas (e.g., We try to encourage our researchers to think outside the box).
A noun meaning: the ability to form pictures in the mind.
My younger son has a very vivid (= active) imagination.
I can never make up stories - I have absolutely no imagination.
For some reason the story captured/caught the imagination of the public (= made them very interested).
It couldn't by any stretch of the imagination be described as a (= it is certainly not a) beautiful city.
There's a sex scene in the film which apparently leaves nothing to the imagination (= shows sexual parts of the body very clearly).
A noun meaning: a pleasant situation that you enjoy thinking about, but which is unlikely to happen, or the activity of thinking itself.
Steve's favourite fantasy was to own a big house and a flashy car.
sexual fantasies
She retreated into a fantasy world, where she could be anything she wanted.
Not to be confused with the noun imagination: I have no fantasy imagination.